Backup goalie Spencer Knight made 34 saves to lead the host Florida Panthers to a 3-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla.
It was Knight’s second shutout this season and fifth of his career.
Florida got goals from Jesper Boqvist, Anton Lundell and Gustav Forsling (empty-netter), and the Panthers withstood the first-period ejection of Sam Reinhart, who started the day tied for second in the NHL with 27 goals.
The Panthers (27-17-3), who had allowed 10 power-play goals in their previous seven games, tightened up their defense. They killed off two penalties in this game, including a five-minute major issued to Reinhart.
Knight (9-6-1) won his third straight start as he outdueled Anaheim’s John Gibson (42 saves).
The Ducks (18-22-6) have lost three straight games and six of seven.
With 4:34 left in the first period, Reinhart hit Anaheim’s Isac Lundestrom. A five-minute major penalty was called and Reinhart was ejected as Lundestrom was helped off the ice.
Florida then opened the scoring on Boqvist’s goal with 8:38 left in the second period. Tomas Nosek and Dmitry Kulikov earned assists as Boqvist’s shot from the left circle trickled in off Gibson’s body.
Frank Vatrano, a former Panthers forward, had two near goals in the second period. On his first attempt, Vatrano hit the post. Later, he had an open net ready to fire on when Mackie Samoskevich tied up his stick at the last moment;
Given that opening, the Panthers extended their lead to 2-0 on Lundell’s unassisted goal from the high slot with 15:17 remaining in the third.
Lundell started the play by stealing the puck from Alex Killorn in the neutral zone. Lundell skated in, then his shot deflected in off the stick of Brian Dumoulin. The puck trickled in after Gibson had made a partial stop.
Finally, Forsling had the empty-netter with seven seconds left.
Despite the win, several slumping Panthers couldn’t get on the scoresheet. Sam Bennett has gone 20 straight games without a goal. Carter Verhaeghe has just one goal in his past 15 games. Matthew Tkachuk has just one goal in his past 14 games; he hit the post in the final seconds with an empty-net attempt.
The teams will meet again on Tuesday, but this time, they will play in Anaheim as the Panthers start a five-game West Coast road trip.
–Field Level Media
