Welcome Home?: Los Angeles Kings 4, Florida Panthers 3

The Florida Panthers appeared to be down and out late in the second period as loud boos flooded the FLA Live Arena after they fell into a three-goal hole to the Los Angeles Kings.

Those frowns turned upside down as the Panthers scored a pair before the end of the period to get back into it — only it was not enough.

Florida, again, could not come all the way back in a 4-3 loss to the Kings.

For a team lauded as the ‘Comeback Cats’ last season, they came into the game struggling mightily in the third period.

Florida leads the league in third-period goals against (76) and had a third-period goal differential of minus-22.

The Panthers appeared to be poised to break the trend after hemming Los Angeles in its own zone for the large majority of the period but they could not find the back of the net.

As soon as they got a chance on the power play with 8:35 to go, all of the momentum they had seemingly evaporated.

The Panthers could not generate much of anything and ended up going to the penalty kill seconds later.

Despite playing a strong game 5-on-5, they could not generate much on special teams and it costed them.

They outscored the Kings 2-1 at even strength but an 0-for-5 power play and two shorthanded goals against did them in.

THE GOALS OF THE GAME

• Kings 1, Panthers 0 (13:25, 1st): Anze Kopitar takes a centering pass from Quinton Byfield and beats Alex Lyon with a backhander.
• Kings 2, Panthers 0 (17:58, 1st, SHG): Adrian Kempe beat Lyon on a shorthanded rush off of a feed from Blake Lizotte.
• Kings 3, Panthers 0 (9:58, 2nd, SHG): Viktor Arvidsson tapped in a feed from Mikey Anderson just as a 4-on-4 turned into a Panthers
• Kings 3, Panthers 1 (13:23, 2nd): Ryan Lomberg sent a backhand shot from the slot past Phoenix Copley.
• Kings 3, Panthers 2 (16:19, 2nd): Brandon Montour blasts a slap shot from the top of the circle.
• Kings 4, Panthers 2 (18:38, 3rd): Matt Roy with the empty netter to all but end it.
• Kings 4, Panthers 3 (19:27, 3rd): Carter Verhaeghe puts in a feed from Matthew Tkachuk.

ALL-STAR BARKOV’S CAREER-LONG STREAK CONTINUES

Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov extended his point streak to a career-long 10 games on the same day he was named an NHL All-Star replacement.

Barkov got a secondary assist on Carter Verhaeghe’s goal with 33.4 seconds remaining to notch his lone point of the game.

He now has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in a streak that stands as the 10th-longest in franchise history.

Mike Hoffman owns the franchise record with 17-straight games with a point. He achieved that goal from Oct. 13 to Nov. 21, 2018, notching 10 goals and 20 points in that span.

COLBY’S THREE STARS OF THE GAME

1. Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles (goal, assist)

2. Viktor Arvidsson, Los Angeles (shorthanded goal)

3. Carter Verhaeghe, Florida (goal, assist)

FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK

BOSTON BRUINS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, NHL Network
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Season Series (Boston leads 2-1): Boston 5, Florida 3 (Oct. 17); Florida 5, Boston 2 (Nov. 23); Boston 7, Florida 3 (Dec. 19)
• Last season: Boston won 2-1
  
• All-time regular season series: Boston leads 60-37-6, 6 ties