The Florida Panthers return home to face the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday at Amerant Bank Arena. Coming off a successful 3-1-0 road trip, the Panthers hold a 17-13-2 record and sit two points from a playoff spot. The Kings, at 14-9-9, have dropped their last three games.
The Florida Panthers will begin a three-game homestand against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET in Sunrise, Florida. After a strong road trip that included a 4-0 shutout win over Dallas and a 5-2 victory against Tampa Bay, the Panthers have momentum heading into the matchup. Forward Sam Bennett highlighted the team's performance, saying, “Those were probably two of our best games of the year. We had all four lines going. We got to playing our style, which is aggressive, in-your-face hockey.”
Several Panthers players excelled on the trip. Bennett scored three goals, while Carter Verhaeghe tallied two goals and three assists, Sam Reinhart added two goals and three assists, Brad Marchand recorded three goals and one assist, and Anton Lundell contributed three goals and one assist. Marchand leads the team with 19 goals and 35 points this season, followed by Reinhart with 17 goals and 32 points, and Verhaeghe with 10 goals and 26 points.
Defenseman Gustav Forsling, who blocked a shot in the Tampa Bay game, is expected to play after coach Paul Maurice confirmed he is “good.” Daniil Tarasov will start in net for Florida, posting a 2-3-0 record and .905 save percentage over his last five starts.
The Kings sit fourth in the Pacific Division after a 4-1 loss to Dallas. Adrian Kempe leads Los Angeles with 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists), Kevin Fiala has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists), and Quinton Byfield sits third with 19 points (4 goals, 15 assists). The Kings average 2.59 goals per game, the fifth-fewest in the NHL. Anton Forsberg is likely to start in goal, with a 4-3-3 record, .893 save percentage, and one shutout in 10 appearances this season.
This marks the second and final meeting between the teams this season. The Panthers won the first 5-2 on November 6, with Marchand scoring twice and Niko Mikkola adding two assists. Florida has won its last two home games against Los Angeles.
Anze Kopitar, in his 20th and final NHL season, will play his last regular-season game against the Panthers. The two-time Stanley Cup champion has 1,294 points (446 goals, 848 assists) in 1,482 games. Bennett praised him: “He's an unbelievable player. He’s a guy that, as a centerman, a guy that I can look up to and model my game after.”
Coach Maurice noted the Kings' style: “How they won two Stanley Cups is they were hard defensive teams that played hard. He’s the captain, the driver. There’s no cheat in his game.” After the Tampa win, Aaron Ekblad said, “We found a way to persevere after a loss and that’s extremely important in this league. We feel pretty confident in our game right now.”
Panthers stats include five players with at least 10 goals, an 8-1-1 record when Lundell scores, Reinhart's 11 home goals in 18 games, Marchand's 28 points in 24 career games versus Los Angeles, and allowing the sixth-fewest shots on goal per game at 26.6.
