Panthers Sweep Golden Knights

     The Florida Panthers won for the first time ever in Las Vegas as they handled the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night. It was the first time that the Panthers played at the venue since the Golden Knights defeated them in Game 5 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. 

     The Panthers had never beaten Vegas in Nevada during the regular season and the postseason until tonight. Florida extended their season-high winning streak to six games. Former Panthers left wing Grigori Denisenko made his debut with the Golden Knights. 

     Vegas(22-12-5) rolled out to a 1-0 lead at the 3:59 mark of the first period. Pavel Dorofeyev made a backhand pass from above the top left circle to Michael Stone in the low left circle. His snap shot was saved by Sergei Bobrovsky, but Dorofeyev put in a forehand shot from the low slot for his fourth goal of the season. Half of Dorofeyev's goals this season have come against the Panthers. 

     Florida(24-12-2) tied it 1-1 on the power play with 5:45 left in the first. Aaron Ekblad pushed the puck from the left wing. Oliver Ekman-Larsson sent a slap shot from the left point that went wide and off the back wall. Sam Bennett slide in a wrist shot from the low right circle by Logan Thompson for his seventh goal of the campaign. 

     The Panthers killed several penalties early in the second period and eventually scored with the man advantage at 6:15 for a 2-1 lead. Sam Reinhart made a square pass from the left point. Brandon Montour released a shot from the top of the zone and it was deflected in by Matthew Tkachuk from the top of the crease for his seventh tally of the season. 

     It became 3-1 for the Panthers with 1:22 remaining in the second. Montour slapped a pass from the right point to Gustav Forsling on the left point. He fired a slap shot which was saved and Carter Verhaeghe scored his 20th goal this season on a snap shot from the low right circle. It was the fifth goal for Verhaeghe in the last six contests. He reached the 20-goal mark for the third straight season. 

     In the third period, the Cats expanded their lead to 4-1 at the 5:23 mark with a power-play tally. Verhaeghe angled a pass from the right wing and Tkachuk made a quick pass from the right of the crease. Reinhart powered in a one-time snap shot from the slot area for his 25th goal in 2023-24.