Florida Panthers
Saturday Knight Live! Spencer Leads Florida Panthers Again

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers needed a little spark coming into Saturday after winning four of their past 10 games.
One would have thought it would be on the offensive side of the ice to do it, but no, it was their goalie.
Spencer Knight made 34 saves on Saturday night to get his second shutout of the season, leading the Panthers to a 3-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks at The Vault.
Knight went shot-for-shot with Anaheim’s John Gibson, helping Florida kill off a 5-minute power play after Sam Reinhart got kicked out for kneeing Isac Lundestrom late in the first.
Jesper Boqvist was the first to break the ice, beating Gibson with a shot from the left side that snuck through at 11:22 of the second.
That was enough for Knight — and the Panthers.
Florida ended up scoring three goals, with Knight getting the assist on Gus Forsling’s empty-netter moments after Knight himself squared up and missed an empty net.
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It would have been Knight’s first-ever NHL goal.
He got the helper on what, at the end of the day, was a meaningless goal.
Still.
“Yeah, I tried,’’ Knight said. “I’ll take the assist, though. Good to get the guys some points.”
As usual, Knight was humble in victory.
Yet it is easy to see how important he is becoming for the Panthers.
After his first start of the season — and NHL start in 20 months — Knight gave up four goals on 26 shots in a 5-2 loss to the host Buffalo Sabres.
Knight was harder on himself than the Panthers ever were, or could be.
“That loss starts with me, and ends with me,’’ Knight said, visibly shaken after the lopsided loss, his first start for the Panthers since Feb. 18, 2023.
“I think, really, the whole thing is on me. I can’t be making plays like that. There were some good things done, but you have to take ownership of the good things and the bad. The loss starts with me.’’
Coach Paul Maurice gave Knight the net again a few days later for the emotional game in Columbus, the Blue Jackets’ home-opener in which the team honored Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew before the game.
The Panthers could have folded in a game everyone outside of South Florida wanted the Blue Jackets to win.
Knight made 35 saves in a 4-3 win.
“He’s the reason we won that game tonight,’’ Maurice said afterward.
Knight, for the most part, has been on ever since.
“I didn’t think our team was very good that night,’’ Maurice said Saturday when asked about Knight’s opening start that night back in October. “It wasn’t something we were worried about, that he would carry. We have lots of faith in him. He’s a really strong goalie. He had a tough one, that first one. Maybe that’s a great thing, sometimes, for a goalie. … You get a little adversity early and it focuses you. He’s been really good for us.”
Yeah he has.
In 16 starts this season, the 23-year-old has allowed three goals or fewer in 12 of them.
The Panthers had faith in Spencer Knight and he has rewarded them.
Simply put, dude has been money.
“He was unreal,’’ Anton Lundell said Saturday. “He made some huge saves and kept us in the game.”
Saturday was Knight’s second shutout of the season after he made 20 saves in a blowout win against Carolina on Nov. 30.
Those Hurricanes were shorthanded; Saturday, Knight had to match Gibson and, he did just that.
When Reinhart got tossed in a scoreless game, the Ducks had a 5-minute power play to work with. Florida’s penalty kill has been a point of contention lately.
No matter.
Knight and the Panthers killed it off, allowing Boqvist to get his 11th goal of the season for a 1-0 lead at 11:22 of the second.
“With Spencer playing the way he is,” Maurice said, “you get the one, and you feel like that might be it.’’
In the third, Lundell stole the puck from Alex Killorn, drove the net and trickled another past Gibson.
It was Knight who looked like the cagey veteran on Saturday night.
With the Panthers on the power play, he stopped Frank Vatrano cold on a breakway, knocking back Frankie’s rebound attempt.
Then Knight stoned two more chops at him to keep things right where they were.
“I think Knight was terrific,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. “He was great, made some Grade-A stops … Obviously Gibson has been around a long time, and he would like those two back. But he made some big saves before the two squeakers went in.”
Radko Gudas, Knight’s former teammate, was impressed.
“We had some breakaways and Knighter was unbelievable today,’’ Gudas told FHN. “I’m not going to say we ran into a hot goalie. He has been playing great like that.’’
ON DECK: GAME No. 48
FLORIDA PANTHERS @ ANAHEIM DUCKS
- When: Tuesday, 10 p.m.
- Where: Honda Center, Anaheim
- Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
- Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN
- Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
- This Season — At Anaheim: Tuesday. At Florida: Saturday.
- Last Season: Tied 1-1
- All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 22-15-2, 3 ties
- Up Next for the Panthers: Wednesday at Los Angeles Kings, 10 p.m. (TNT)
