Growing up in Russia, Nik Antropov didn't follow the NHL career of countryman Pavel Bure.
On Monday night, Antropov upstaged him. Antropov, 19, notched his first career hat trick as the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied to a 6-4 victory over the Florida Panthers.
The Maple Leafs, who trailed 4-2, scored four unanswered goals in the thirdperiod -- the final two by Antropov. Antropov's second of the night, and third of the year, with 10:03 left, put Toronto ahead 5-4. It was the maple Leafs' third goal in just under five minutes.
Antropov, Toronto's first selection in the 1998 NHL draft, sent a shot from the right circle past Florida's Mikhail Shtalenkov. It came after Igor Koralev's power-play goal and a short-handed score by Dimitri Yushkevich that tied the game.
The third goal by Antropov came with 6:23 left after he one-timed a shot on a 2-on-1 break with Dmitri Khristich. Florida's Cam Stewart had turned the puck over to Khristich on a drop pass. "My first hat trick in the NHL," Antropov sahd. "Unbelievable. I'm so happy."
The loss ended Florida's four-game winning streak and was only the Panthers' third defeat at home. Toronto won its third straight. "He had one of those nights," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said of the rookie center who debuted against the Panthers Oct. 13 in Toronto. "It might be a coming out for him -- I hope it is."
The momentum shifted back and forth all game. "It didn't look good when we were down 4-2, but we kept plugging," said Curtis Joseph, who had 36 saves. "But we kept plugging and Nikki had a big game -- he buried three. You need somebody to get hot and Nikki was hot tonight."
Last year, Antropov was skating for Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Hockey League. He had five goals and nine assists in 30 games. Coming into the NHL, he was not viewed as a complete player, but as a raw talent. "People questioned his skating," said Toronto's Mats Sundin, who had a goal Monday. "But I think he's going to be a hell of a player."
Antropov scored his three goals against another fellow countryman. "Yesterday, I told him three goals," Antropov joked. Bure, the NHL's player of the week, set a Panthers record by scoring a goal in his fifth straight game. Bure, who has 12 goals in seven games, also had two assists.
Ray Whitney scored a pair of goals for Florida. "It was a game that was there for us," Panthers coach Terry Murray said. "We gave the game to them." The Panthers were down 2-0 after one period, but scored twice in the second and added two goals early in the third. Bure had his hand in two of them. Florida lost for the first time this season when Bure scored (13-1-1).
The Maple Leafs are now 6-1-2 in their last nine against the Panthers. Joseph improved to 8-1-1 lifetime against Florida. Just 1:28 into the game, the Maple Leafs took a 1-0 lead on Antropov's first score of the game.
His only other goal was Nov. 15 against San Jose. "You can't say enough about him," said Tie Domi, who assisted on Antropov's first goal of the game. "You hate to compare him, but I see a lot of Alexei Yashin in him, except he's more feisty."
