The Florida Panthers saw their record in March fall to a paltry 4-9-1 with their 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
Florida entered the month in need a strong and consistent run. Instead of finding that winning consistency, the Panthers have stumbled and are now facing the prospect of elimination. Florida is only 33-32-11 on the season and the near .500 record tells the story of a team that has simply been unable to go on a run.
The loss for the Panthers was their second straight on the current four-game road trip. This is the final multi-game trip of the season for Florida and it could not get off to a worse start. Even though Florida is mathematically alive for a playoff spot, it would take a great deal of help for that to happen.
Down by two late in the second period, Reilly Smith got Florida on the board first with his 14th goal of the season. Jason Demers and Keith Yandle assisted on the goal that cut the deficit in half.
Florida found itself down by two again as time wound down in the third period, but that was before Jaromir Jagr made it a one-goal game. The goal was the 15th of the season for Jagr and he had help from Aleksander Barkov and Yandle. The score came during a power play and was Florida's only successful advantage in the game in four tries.
Once again, the Panthers split goaltender duties with James Reimer and Reto Berra both seeing time in the net. Reimer had 12 saves in 14 chances, while Berra had ten saves in 11 opportunities. Reimer was lifted from the game early due to an upper body injury and not due to his production.
Florida will stay in Canada and will take on the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
