Montour scores in OT after Reinhart's late equalizer to lift Panthers over Maple Leafs

Brandon Montour scored at 1:41 of overtime and backup goaltender Alex Lyon made 38 saves as the Florida Panthers downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Wednesday to energize their flickering playoff hopes.

Auston Matthews and Zach Aston-Reese replied for Toronto (44-20-10). Ilya Samsonov stopped 26 shots.

Montour beat Samsonov of a two-on-one in the three-on-three extra period after William Nylander lost the puck in the offensive zone.

WATCH | Montour scores winner as Panthers beat Leafs in OT:

Panthers' Montour scores overtime winner to defeat Maple Leafs

2 years ago

Duration 1:18

Florida edges Toronto 3-2 with Brandon Montour's overtime goal to snap a 4-game losing skid. Montour sets a franchise record for most points in a season by a defenceman with 63.

Lyon also robbed Matthews earlier in OT to keep his team in the fight.

The Panthers entered the game three points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference following four straight regulation losses where they were outscored 21-10 — an ugly stretch on the heels of a 6-0-1 run that had moved them above the playoff cutline.

Matthews buried his 37th at 6:40 of the third period off a pass from Mitch Marner that beat Lyon through the pads to snap a 1-1 tie.

Matthews has six goals and five assists as part of a seven-game point streak. Marner, meanwhile, has points in 11 straight games.

The desperate Panthers got a power play with under eight minutes left in regulation, but Samsonov and Toronto's penalty killers held firm.

The goaltender then made a terrific stop off Anthony Duclair on an odd-man rush.

The visitors got another man advantage with 2:20 left in regulation.

Florida pulled Lyon for an extra attacker before Reinhart tied it on the power play with 59 seconds left in regulation on a deflection for his 28th to force OT.

Florida led 1-0 just one minute into the first when Lundell benefited from a mistake by Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe to bury his 10th.

Toronto tied it three minutes into the second when Aston-Reese tipped a T.J. Brodie point shot for his eighth past Lyon, who got the start ahead of Sergei Bobrovsky on the front end of a back-to-back.

Calle Jarnkrok appeared to give the Leafs their first lead moments later on a 2-on-1, but the play was correctly challenged for offside on Matthews.

During the stoppage in play as the lineman examined replays, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice went ballistic on his players for their performance in a game his team badly needed.

Aston-Reese then fired wide on a penalty shot after the Leafs forward was slashed on a breakaway, and the teams stayed tied 1-1 through two periods.

O'Reilly getting closer to returning

Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe said following Tuesday's practice Ryan O'Reilly is "unlikely" to play this week.

Acquired from St. Louis along with fellow veteran centre Noel Acciari, O'Reilly has been out since March 4 with a broken finger.

The 32-year-old's recovery timetable after surgery was four weeks, which would be April 4.

Acciari, meanwhile, sat out Wednesday with an undisclosed injury suffered Sunday in Nashville.

The Panthers visit Montreal on Thursday and Columbus on Saturday, while the Maple Leafs visit Ottawa on Saturday before hosting Detroit on Sunday.