5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 3, Maple Leafs 2 (OT)

TORONTO --With Sergei Bobrovsky unable to man the crease due to a non-COVID illness, backup goaltender Alex Lyon stepped in and stepped up to lead the Florida Panthers to a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
Improving to 37-31-7, the Panthers now trail the Pittsburgh Penguins (36-28-10) by just one point for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with seven games left on their schedule.
"He's the type of guy that brings the joy to the locker room," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said of Lyon's outstanding performance. "You want to play good in front of him. I still think we could've done a little better job in front of him, but he didn't need that today."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. THE LYON KING

Let the Lion King memes flow, my friends.
Coming up in the clutch after being called into action to fill in for Bobrovsky, Lyon pieced together the performance of his life to help the Panthers reignite their late-season playoff push.
Turning aside 38 of 40 shots, the 30-year-old journeyman added several saves to his personal highlight reel during the win. Put to the test each and every period, he made 14 saves in the first, 14 in the second, nine in the third and then added one more in overtime just for good measure.
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Lyon finished 11-for-12 against shots from high-danger areas.
"He's earned it," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "He worked hard. He's put the effort in to be given the opportunity to be good. He was the key guy, first star of the night."
When looking back at Lyon's performance, the one save that really stands out -- other than his denial of Zach Aston-Reese's penalty shot in the second period -- was his game-saving robbery on Auston Matthews in overtime. Facing down Toronto's leading goal-scorer, Lyon flashed leather to make a spectacular save on a point-blank shot from Matthews as he glided through the slot.
Thanks to a little help from Bobrovsky, Lyon said he was prepared for the move.
"Honestly, Bob and I looked at it," Lyon said. "He scored on Bob like that in Florida last week. We talked about that a lot and how he's so good at moving to the net-front quickly. Coming high and going low-glove, to me, is one of his signature moves. I tried to anticipate it, and it worked out."
In eight appearances with Florida this season, Lyon owns a 4-3-1 record.

2. LUNDELL ON THE BOARD

Anton Lundell received a nice confidence booster in Toronto.
Helping ease the pressure a bit in a must-win game, Lundell -- with some help from a fellow Finn -- got the Panthers on the board early in enemy territory. After Eetu Luostarinen stole the puck in the offensive zone, he set up Lundell for a goal in the slot to make it 1-0 just one minute into the first period.

"We've got a good forecheck," Lundell said of the quick goal. "Luosty got the puck and saw I was wide-open. I just tried to scream, and he saw me. It was a good play by our line."
Ending a 12-game goal drought with that score, Lundell said it "felt really good" to get back on the scoresheet and that all his hard work had finally paid off. With Sam Bennett currently out of the lineup due to an injury, the Panthers are counting on Lundell to really step up in his absence.
Still just 21 years old, the second-year pro said he's up to the challenge.
"I want to help the team," said Lundell, who's produced 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 66 games during his sophomore season in the NHL. "I know I can do better. I just want to battle hard and give everything that I have in every shift. That's something I try to do every game."

3. MONTOUR'S MILESTONE

Maurice didn't mince words when asked about Brandon Montour.
"I love that man," he smiled.
Getting on his horse and flying up the ice on a 2-on-1 rush with Barkov in overtime, the two-way defenseman dashed straight to the net before depositing a perfect feed from the captain from on the doorstep to lock in the 3-2 win for the Panthers with his fifth game-winner of the season.

"Barky didn't have much room to get it over to me, but obviously he's one of the best in the world and makes big plays," Montour said of his goal, which came 1:41 into the extra frame. "I just tried to get to the net, tried to get open for him, and luckily he found me."
Finishing with a goal and an assist against the Maple Leafs for his sixth multi-point game in his last 12 outings, Montour increased his career-high point total on the season to 63 to pass Keith Yandle (62 in 2018-19) for the highest-scoring campaign by a defenseman in franchise history.
Breaking out in 2022-23, the 28-year-old leads Florida's D-corps in both goals (14) and assists (49).
"It's cool," Montour said of his milestone. "You don't go into the year looking to break records. Again, the coaching staff and the players believe in me to have a big opportunity and play a big role on this team. I'm just trying to take every opportunity. It's nice to get that milestone."
All those points aside, it's Montour's attitude that has impressed Maurice the most.
"He doesn't play on mistakes," Maurice said. "He just comes out to win the game. If he has something bad happen in his game, it's not going to affect his next shift. Not because he doesn't care or he doesn't have a conscience, but just because he just wants to win."

4. REINHART SAVES THE DAY

When Sam Reinhart is around the net, just throw the puck in his direction.
With the Panthers pulling Lyon for a 6-on-4 advantage on the power play, Reinhart made sure they'd leave with at least one point when he deftly re-directed a shot from Aaron Ekblad past Ilya Samsonov and into the cage to suddenly make it 2-2 with just 59.6 seconds left in regulation.

Always dangerous on the man advantage, Reinhart's timely tally moved him ahead of Matthew Tkachuk -- a fellow master around the net -- for the most power-play goals on the team with 14.
With a chance to post consecutive 30-goal seasons for the first time in his career, Reinhart sits second on the Panthers with 28 goals. Heating up at the perfect time, the 27-year-old forward has lit the lamp seven times of his last 10 games -- tied for the most on the team in that span.

5. THE RACE TIGHTENS UP

Even after dropping four straight games, the playoff race rolls on for the Panthers.
By coming from behind to secure two incredibly important points in Toronto, the Panthers have once again clawed their way back to within just one point of the Penguins, who have played in one fewer game than Florida, for the coveted second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Breaking the race down into segments, the Panthers will play their next three games against the Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators. For the Penguins, their next three matchups will be against the Nashville Predators, Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers.
With no easy games at this time of the season, the spot is there for the taking.
"We all know what the standings look like," Lyon said when asked about the team's belief. "What've we got to lose? Why play scared? Why play nervous? This is what you play the game for."