FHN TODAY: Florida Panthers Get a Day Off in Las Vegas

The Florida Panthers got the second half of their season off to an interesting start as they took a three-goal lead into the third period against the Colorado Avalanche.

And … Matthew Tkachuk got the Panthers a 5-4 win by scoring with 3:30 remaining.

As they say, a win is a win and now the Panthers turn their focus toward their next opponent.

Ah, who are we kidding?

With a day off in Las Vegas, the only time the Panthers may think about the Golden Knights is if they see a Blackjack dealer wearing one of those fancy jerseys.

And, yes, that’s a thing.

UPDATE: The Panthers scheduled an optional practice at the arena for Wednesday afternoon, so there will be some hockey going on today.

The Panthers have never won a game in Vegas, going 0-3-1 against the Knights in Nevada with Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith usually enjoying their games against their former team.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

Tkachuk came up big for the Panthers — again — as he scored with 10 seconds left in the power play to give Sergei Bobrovsky the lead back for good.

The Panthers have now won three of their past four and are 2-1-0 on this road trip.

— Jimmy Murphy goes ‘Off The Record’ and reports the Coyotes may move Jakob Chychrun sooner than later. The Panthers would love to bring him home.

— The Panthers came out pretty strong against the Avs on Tuesday, scoring three goals (Sasha Barkov, Brandon Montour and Sam Bennett) in the opening period with Tkachuk making it 4-1 late in the second.

— Spencer Knight was placed on Injured Reserve on Tuesday with an undisclosed injury. Alex Lyon was called up from Charlotte.

— More postgame video from Tuesday night up on the FHN YouTube Channel from Maurice, Bennett and Montour.

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NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

It was too little, too late for the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night as some team from Florida with some guy who used to play in Calgary pulled out a win.

The Panthers handed Colorado its sixth loss in the past seven games — but it certainly did not come easily.

— The Calgary Flames, like the Panthers, gave up a big lead on Tuesday. They ended up losing to the Blues.

— The Detroit Red Wings tied a season-high for goals and snapped a three-game losing streak.

— Philadelphia Flyers goalie Sam Ersson was terrific in Buffalo and may give John Tortorella another option in net.

— What goes into the Washington Capitals elaborate tunnel routine?

— The San Jose Sharks went to Tempe and took care of business.

— The Pittsburgh Penguins came home and got a tough win against the Canucks.

PANTHERS ON DECK

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

• When: Thursday, 10 p.m.
• Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Last season: Split 1-1
• All-time regular season series: Vegas leads 5-2-1
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Vancouver, 7 p.m.