Golden: Florida Panthers 2, Vegas Knights 1

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers put together their second complete game in a row to take down the Vegas Golden Knights in what they hope is the start of a run.

Florida rode a dominant first period to take down Vegas 2-1.

”We were fast in the first period by how we moved the puck and how we moved our feet,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.

”We took the ice in front and it was really simple.”

The Panthers left a lot of opportunities on the table — missing the net four times and having another 16 shots blocked — but they controlled the tempo of the first period and led in shots (11-9) and scoring chances (16-6).

They rode that into a 1-0 lead at the break and quickly took a 2-0 lead shortly after the second period started.

It was the second-straight game to fill that exact mold since Florida ended a skid of getting outscored 11-6 in the opening frame that started on Feb. 9.

”We were a good 2-1 team here tonight,” Maurice said.

”I wouldn’t say we missed offense. [Adin Hill] made some big saves on good offense, clean low-to-high into the slot, so not a lot of fancy offense but we had some hard work and offense where we went into puck battles and got pucks into the middle.

”He just made a save or they blocked a lot of shots.”

The Golden Knights took advantage of an Achilles heel that has plagued the Panthers the whole season to get back into the game: penalties.

Florida took three of them in the second period and got burned on the third when Shea Theodore uncorked a blast of a slap shot on the power play.

Sergei Bobrovsky made eight saves in a low-event third period to help seal the win for the Panthers.

Florida still sits three points out of a wildcard spot at 70 points with the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins both winning their respective games on Tuesday night.

They still made significant progress in their own right by stringing together a style of game they can win with twice in a row and could serve as a step towards continued consistency for the first time this season.

The Panthers will attempt to extend their winning streak to three games for just the second time this season when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.

GOALS OF THE GAME

• Panthers 1, Golden Knights 0 (4:25, 1st): Ryan Lomberg picked the top left corner with a quick wrist shot in traffic to put the Panthers up early.
• Panthers 2, Golden Knights 0 (4:05, 2nd): Sasha Barkov deflected an Anthony Duclair pass off the left crossbar and in.
• Panthers 2, Golden Knights 1 (13:23, 2nd, PPG): Shea Theodore blasted a slap shot past Sergei Bobrovsky on the power play.

COLBY’S 3 STARS OF THE NIGHT

1. Ryan Lomberg, Florida

2. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida

3. Adin Hill, Vegas

PANTHERS ON DECK

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Friday, 7 p.m.
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Last season: Florida won 2-0
• This season (Chicago leads 1-0): Blackhawks 4, Panthers 2 (Oct. 25)
• All-time regular season series: Blackhawks lead 28-17-4, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Winnipeg, 7 p.m.