Colby Guy
SUNRISE — Missing seven players due to the NHL’s Covid-19 protocols, the Florida Panthers had to call up a number of reinforcements from the AHL Charlotte Checkers before Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
Two problems: The Checkers were coming off back-to-back games and, due to salary cap and roster concerns, the Panthers were only able to ice 16 skaters instead of the usual 18.
Florida was forced to play with 11 forwards and five defensemen.
When it was all said and done, Cole Schwindt, Grigori Denisenko, Matt Kiersted and Chase Priskie played three games in three nights — including Florida’s 4-1 loss to the Kings.
“I thought they brought a lot to the hockey game,” Florida interim coach Andrew Brunette said.
“I think they all played extremely well for us. I was really happy for them. It was a good opportunity. They stepped in and they played exceptionally. For us coaches and organizationally, it was great to see them play at that level.”
Schwindt, 20, made his NHL debut on short notice, finding out on Wednesday that he would be one of the reinforcements Florida called for with the lineup ravaged by COVID-19.
“After the game on Wednesday, I got the nod that there’s a chance I would be playing tonight,” Schwindt said. “I tried to get home and to get as much sleep as I could before my 10 a.m. flight this morning,”
For Schwindt, the toll that those back-to-back games in Charlotte took on his body wasn’t stopping him from fulfilling his dream of playing in the NHL.
“Getting a chance to play your first NHL game is something that every kid dreams of,” he said. “I didn’t have much trouble getting legs for tonight
“I tried to have a pregame nap when I got into Florida this afternoon and there was no chance I was falling asleep. Going into tonight’s game, there were a whole lot of jitters and a lot of excitement and I think, moving forward, I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life.”
Schwindt had to adjust to things on the fly when he first arrived from Charlotte, but Kiersted guided him through it while sitting beside him on the plane ride to Fort Lauderdale.
“He really calmed me down on the way here,” Schwindt said. “I got to talk to him and he gave me a glimpse of what was going to happen.”
Kiersted had a memorable night in his own right.
With just over five minutes left in the first period, Kiersted scored his first NHL goal — a backhander past Jonathan Quick to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
“Anytime I see a guy score their first NHL goal, it brings me back to when I scored my first goal,” said Anthony Duclair, who celebrated the goal with a big grin along with Kiersted.
“That feeling is unbelievable, the best feeling in the world. You work your whole life to get to this point. To finally see that puck go in the net, you are just as happy for him as anyone else.”
Los Angeles struck back two minutes later. Olli Maatta sent a puck into the crease and watched it deflect off of MacKenzie Weegar and into the net with 2:45 to go in the opening frame to tie the game at one.
Anze Kopitar gave the Kings the 2-1 lead 3:27 into the second frame with a backhander on a partial breakaway.
Dustin Brown would score a goal nearly the same way with 9:02 to go in the second period to make it a 3-1 game, capitalizing off of a breakdown from the Weegar-Kiersted pairing.
However, the Panthers had to lean on that pairing a lot throughout the game.
With four of Florida’s six regular defensemen out of the lineup, Weegar played a game-leading 31:32.
“We were relying on him a lot. I think we have all year. But tonight, even more than normal,” Brunette said. “He competed, he did a great job on the power play. He did everything and more that we asked from him.”
The Panthers also leaned on Priskie a lot.
The South Florida native logged the second-most ice time on the team (25:29) despite playing in his third game in three nights.
“He played exceptionally,” Brunette said. “He used his feet, I thought he managed the game very well, he picked the spots to be up in the rush and up in the play, he battled and competed, played hard and heavy on pucks. He played great.”
Arthur Kaliyev extended Los Angeles’ lead to 4-1 with a wrist shot from the high slot that beat Sergei Bobrovsky with 12:58 to go.
Bobrovsky finished the game with 27 saves on 31 shots, totaling a .871 save percentage on the night.
“I think we could’ve helped him out a little bit,” Brunette said. “He made some big saves early in the game and we had a few breakdowns that left him out hanging to dry.”