Florida Panthers Head Home on 5-Game Streak, Beat Stars

Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer was understandably upset with how his team started against the Florida Panthers on Friday.

Saturday, not so much.

Even though the Panthers took a two-goal lead midway through the second, Dallas was right in it — and tied the score by the time the horn ended the second period.

In the third, however, it was A.J. Greer getting his first with the Panthers to break the deadlock and help Florida to a 4-2 win.

The Panthers now say goodbye to Finland and fly home to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday going a perfect 5-0 on the longest — by mileage — road trip of the season.

Spencer Knight made 23 saves in the win.

The Panthers took a 2-0 lead on a pair of defections.

The first came when Evan Rodrigues got airborne yet still got a piece of Niko Mikkola’s point shot.

In the second, Matthew Tkachuk made it 2-0 by knocking down a shot from Uvis Balinskis on the power play.

Dallas charged back, getting goals from Evgenii Dadonov and Matt Duchene within a span of 34 seconds in the second to tie it at 2.

— The Panthers went 5-0 on their road trip, outscoring the Rangers, Islanders, Sabres, and Stars by a 24-12 margin.

— With an assist in the first, Sam Reinhart reached the 20-point mark in 13 games — fastest to 20 in franchise history.

With the empty-net goal, he has 21 points in 13 games.

Reinhart (last season), Matthew Tkachuk (2022-23), and Jonathan Huberdeau (2021) did it in 14 games previously.

GOALS OF THE GAME

• Panthers 1, Stars 0 (14:45 1st): Niko Mikkola sends a point shot toward the net, Evan Rodrigues channels his inner Bam Adebayo and leapt in the air — but got a piece of the puck with his stick and the Panthers take the early lead.
• Panthers 2, Stars 0 (8:47 2nd PP): Another deflection goal for Florida; this time, it’s Matthew Tkachuk knocking down a shot from Uvis Balinskis.
• Panthers 2, Stars 1 (11:22 2nd PP): Old friend Evgenii Dadonov fires one from the center of the left circle and beats Spencer Knight through the legs.
• Stars 2, Panthers 2 (11:56 2nd): Matt Duchene finds the puck in front of the net after a shot deflected off the skate of Sam Bennett and the game is suddenly tied.
• Panthers 3, Stars 2 (2:32 3rd): Tomas Nosek wins a faceoff in the Dallas zone, kicks the puck onto A.J. Greer’s stick and he fires a missile past Casey DeSmith.
• Panthers 4, Stars 2 (19:00 3rd EN): Reinhart gets his second point of the night and ices this one for the Panthers.

GR’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

• 1. Spencer Knight, Florida
• 2. A.J. Greer, Florida
• 3. Sam Reinhart, Florida

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ON DECK: GAME 14

NASHVILLE PREDATORS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Season Series — At Nashville: Feb. 25. At Florida: Thursday.
• Last Season: Split 1-1
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 22-15-6, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 6 p.m.