The Florida Panthers will celebrate some milestone nights on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. Not only will Dmitry Kulikov play in his 1,000th NHL game, but Paul Maurice will coach in his 1,900th game.
Doughty plays about 24 minutes in his season debut but the Kings fall, 3-0, and have lost seven of their past nine games, scoring just 15 goals in that stretch.
Now, with the lines taking on more of a traditional look, Maurice decided to keep Samoskevich in the top six, moving him to the left side and slotting Matthew Tkachuk back on Bennett’s right, where he’s spent much of his tree seasons in Florida.
With the Panthers earning nine seconds of a 5-on-3 power play early in the third period, Aleksander Barkov made the most out of that limited time by winning a faceoff draw in the offensive zone, going to the net and scoring to make it 2-0 at 4:43.
The Florida Panthers looked like they enjoyed their first game in Sunrise in a couple weeks. Hosting the Los Angeles Kings, Florida jumped out to an early lead and clamped down on the advantage, skating to a 3-0 victory.
Bennett’s goal 4:55 into regulation came when he took a feed from Tkachuk across the goal crease and sent a wrist shot high as Kings goaltender Dary Kuemper was sprawled down on the ice.
Having already played a pair of back-to-backs on their recent road trip, the Panthers will now host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday before kicking off yet another back-to-back against the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Call it a mixed bag for the Florida Panthers on their West Coast trip. The Panthers went 2-2-0 in their four games out west, beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 on Tuesday, falling to the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Wednesday, winning against the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Saturday and losing to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 on Sunday.
After picking up a resounding SCORE victory on Saturday night in San Jose, the Panthers will wrap up their four-game road trip against their old friends, the Vegas Golden Knights. Entering play Sunday, Vegas sits just one point behind the Edmonton Oilers for first place in the Pacific Division.
Aaron Ekblad is back with the Florida Panthers when they play the San Jose Sharks tonight at 10. Ekblad got hurt Jan. 3 against the Penguins but played much of that game; after missing a game in Colorado,
After not scoring in 20 games, could Sam Bennett start a good, old-fashioned scoring streak when the Florida Panthers visit the Los Angeles Kings tonight? Well, why not? Bennett gave the Panthers some needed breathing room Tuesday night,
The Ducks will face the Florida Panthers again in the first home game of three before they head back on the road. The Ducks are coming off a 3-0 loss to the Panthers on Jan. 18. The Panthers have also not played since that 3-0 victory over the Ducks.