Panarin has scored in three straight games to begin March, and he's added two assists and 16 shots on net in that span. The 33-year-old winger is up to 26 goals, 64 points, 186 shots on net and a minus-7 rating over 60 outings.

The goal was his 25th of the season, the eighth time in his career Panarin has reached that plateau. Predictably, the 33-year-old hasn't been able to replicate his massive 2023-24 campaign, but Panarin has still been productive this season with 63 points in 59 appearances.

Without Fox, Laviolette used a quintet of forwards Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Vincent Trochek and Alexis Lafrenière as his PP1 for the first time against the Maple Leafs.