Recap: Tavares pots four in Maple Leafs 7-5 win over Panthers

John Tavares scored four times for the first time in his career as the Toronto Maple Leafs made mincemeat of the Florida Panthers defense and goaltending in a 7-5 win at Scotiabank Arena in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final count indicated.

Tavares notched Toronto’s third, fourth, fifth and sixth goals as the Buds built an insurmountable 6-2 lead when the former Islander lit the lamp 3:57 into third period for his 45th of the season.

Patrick Marleau and Jake Muzzin scored goals 2:15 apart to send Sam Montembeault to the bench 4:21 into game in favor of Roberto Luongo. The rookie made two saves on four shots and should probably be sent back to Springfield or stick to practice…