Connect with us

Florida Panthers

Florida Panthers Kick Off Tough Road Trip Late Night in Anaheim

Published

on

Florida panthers
Florida Panthers fans celebrate after Jesper Boqvist gave them a 1-0 lead over the Anaheim Ducks in the second period on Saturday night. The Panthers and Ducks play again tonight. // Photo courtesy @FlaPanthers

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers headed west Monday on a positive note.



After shutting out Anaheim on Saturday night, the Panthers practiced Monday before their six-hour flight to California.

They will need the rest and the positive thinking, with four games in six nights out west.

The trip includes an unusual setup of having two consecutive back-to-backs with two days in between.

The Florida penalty kill woes which were an issue prior to Saturday’s 3-0 win against Anaheim, seemed to have suddenly gone the way of the straight stick blade.

Long since forgotten.

After giving up three goals to Detroit in four power-play chances Thursday, Saturday’s effort against the Ducks — with Spencer Knight in goal — was impressive.

For The Best – And Only Daily Coverage – Of The Florida Panthers

Subscribe to Florida Hockey Now Today!

With two back-to-backs on this trip, starting tonight in the Anaheim rematch, Florida will split the goaltending between Knight and Sergei Bobrovsky.

Anaheim’s John Gibson had a strong night as well.

He always turns it on against Florida, even in a losing effort. He stopped 43 of 45 shots Saturday.

Those with good memories will recall that on April 22, 2022, Gibson faced 55 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Panthers.

Don’t be surprised if we see Gibson again tonight, although partner Lukas Dostal has been playing very well.

The Ducks have been alternating goalies, so it will probably be Dostal.

Saturday, Anaheim had seven minutes of power play time with five coming on the major penalty assessed to Sam Reinhart, one of Florida’s top penalty killers.

“Our kill, which we really struggled with, was strong tonight,” Paul Maurice said. “When you lose your leading scorer, you’re into a grinder…It was a harder game than the standings would tell you it should be. But I think we knew that going in. I’m happy with the kill. Happy for Spencer.”

The Ducks were held to four shots on goal.

It gave the Panthers life.

“You get a five-minute major like that, and you don’t score,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said, “and it’s usually a bad omen.

“Our penalty kill was good. We’ve got to get our power play going. I think when you get goals on a power play, it gives you some confidence five-on-five, too.”

No doubt they worked on special team in preparation for tonight’s rematch.

Anaheim captain Radko Gudas provides veteran leadership to the team.

He looked forward to returning home following a grueling six-game road trip in which the Ducks went 1-4-1.

“We want to give our crowd…victories, so they get something to cheer for, especially coming off this road trip,” Gudas said.

“I don’t think we feel necessarily good about ourselves, but we feel good about our effort. If we bring that and we keep trying, keep bearing down, we’ll get a positive outcome out of this.”

The Panthers head to the second half of the cross-country home-and-home series in a good, albeit not secure, place. 

They are three points behind Toronto for first place in the Atlantic Division.

On the negative side, they are only six points ahead of Columbus in the final wild-card spot.

They are healthy, save for Aaron Ekblad who may return during the trip.

“It’s been a tough schedule so far this year,” Carter Verhaeghe said. “Going in there, we’re just going to give it our best. Back-to-backs are always about recovery. Playing all four lines. I think that’s kind of been our M.O. all year. I think it’s going to be a good one.”

Late Night with the Panthers Week starts tonight at 10.

ON DECK: GAME No. 48
FLORIDA PANTHERS @ ANAHEIM DUCKS

 

Get FHN+ today!