SUNRISE, Fla. – Spencer Knight will man the crease when the Florida Panthers close out their homestand against the Anaheim Ducks at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
Settling into a groove, Knight is coming off a string of solid starts, posting a 3-1-0 record with a .917 save percentage and 1.99 goals-against average over his last four appearances.
“Spencer’s been able to put in some big games now where he can actually steal some confidence from them,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s not we’re rested, everyone’s rested, and we’re catching a bottom-end team. He’s come in on back-to-backs against good teams and he’s played well. He can feel like he was a big part of those wins.”
Second in the Atlantic Division at 26-17-3, the Panthers are looking to get back in the win column following a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in their last outing on Thursday.
Despite leading 2-1 in goals and 33-10 in scoring chances at 5-on-5, the Panthers let the game slip away on special teams, surrendering three power-play goals in the loss.
Even with a bit of a slump on special teams, the Panthers have been steadily exceptional at 5-on-5 throughout the campaign and currently rank second in the NHL with a 55.09 CF%.
It’s that play at 5-on-5, they believe, that will lead them out of their current 4-5-1 stretch.
“We can build off our last couple games,” forward Sam Bennett said. “I think our 5-on-5 game has been great. We’ve got all four lines going. We’ve been heavy on the forecheck, and that’s where we generate our offense. That’s what we’ve got to do tonight.”
Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals (27) and points (51), while Matthew Tkachuk is second in both points (40) and assists (26). Recently named the “Athlete of the Year” in his native Finland, captain Aleksander Barkov ranks third in points (38) and first in assists (27).
A big piece on the blue line, Aaron Ekblad is expected to miss his fifth straight game.
“I think we’re now shooting for the road trip,” Maurice said of Ekblad, whose injury has been deemed upper body. “I think we’re pretty confident he’ll be able to play on the road trip.”
Sixth in the Pacific Division at 18-21-6, the Ducks have dropped five of their last six games and enter tonight’s matchup on the heels of a 4-3 shootout loss at Tampa Bay on Thursday.
Giving the Lightning a good fight, the Ducks tied the game in the third period on a goal from Robby Fabbri, which helped push the game past 60 minutes. In the shootout, Jake Guentzel scored the only goal the Lightning needed as Andrei Vasilevskiy shut down all three Ducks.
Struggling to put the back in the back of the net, the Ducks are averaging a league-low 2.42 goals per game and have been shut out in two of their last four games. One reason for that low scoring has been their lack of execution on the power play, which is operating at 12.7%.
Troy Terry leads Anaheim in goals (15), assists (19) and points (34). Ryan Strome is second in scoring with 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists), while Frank Vatrano is third with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists). Rookie Cutter Gauthier has tallied 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists).
On the back end, the Ducks are led by former Panther and first-year captain Radko Gudas.
“He’s an awesome guy,” forward Sam Bennett said of Gudas, who suited up in Florida from 2020-21 through 2022-23. “He’s one of my favorite teammates ever. Happy he got that acknowledgement as a great leader. He was awesome. Definitely enjoyed having him.”
Dating back to the 2019-20 campaign, the Panthers own a 7-0-1 record in their last eight games against the Ducks, leading 30-19 to goals and averaging 41 shots per contest.
Last season, the Panthers went 1-0-1 in their two head-to-head meetings.
The first of a home-and-home, the Ducks will host Florida on Tuesday.
“I think Anaheim has got it right,” Maurice said. “I think they’re trending in that right direction.”
THEY SAID IT
“The last three games especially, two of them from an analytics point of view, are our best games of the year.” – Paul Maurice
“We’re getting all four lines playing well right now, all four lines skating well. I think, for the most part, we’ve got a lot of O-zone time.” – Sam Bennett
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers with eight first-period goals.
- Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers with five multi-assist games.
- A.J. Greer ranks first on the Panthers with 122 hits.
- Gustav Forsling has seen a team-high 144:38 of ice time on the penalty kill.
- The Panthers own a 15-3-0 record when leading after the first period.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Matthew Tkachuk – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Eetu Luostarinen – Sam Bennett – Mackie Samoskevich
Carter Verhaeghe – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist
Evan Rodrigues – Tomas Nosek – A.J. Greer
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Dmitry Kulikov
Niko Mikkola – Nate Schmidt
Tobias Bjornfot – Uvis Balinskis
Goaltenders
Spencer Knight
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Jan. 6: D Tobias Bjornfot recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 23: F Rasmus Asplund loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT-AM & 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click Here
