Quick makes 41 saves, Kings hand Panthers third straight loss

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jonathan Quick made 41 saves when the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Florida Panthers 4-1 at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.

"A standard night of work for him this season," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "He has been outstanding. He's a pretty deodorant for some of the mistakes that we make."
Florida (18-7-4) played with 11 forwards and five defensemen, two short of the usual 18 skaters, after placing seven players in NHL COVID-19 protocol, including top-line center Sam Bennett and top defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
Four players were recalled from Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Thursday, all four playing their third game in three nights.
"I thought they brought a lot to the hockey game," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "I thought they all played extremely well for us. For us coaches and organizationally, it was great to see them play at that level."

Anze Kopitar scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period for the Kings (13-10-5), who are 3-0-1 in their past four games.
"We just have to keep building," Kings forward Dustin Brown said. "We've had a very streaky team thus far this year. It's important to find the momentum and keep the momentum going."
Defenseman Matt Kiersted scored his first NHL goal after being called up from Charlotte earlier in the day and Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves for the Panthers.
Florida has lost three in a row in regulation for the first time this season.
Kiersted gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 14:56 of the first period with a backhand from close range after taking a feed from Jonathan Huberdeau.

Olli Maatta tied it 1-1 at 17:05 when his centering pass went in off the skate of Florida defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.
Kopitar gave the Kings a 2-1 lead at 3:27 of the second period when a high backhand from close range after skating past the Florida defense.
Brown made it 3-1 at 12:58 after getting past two Florida defensemen and deking to his backhand on a partial breakaway.
"It was just chipped out and a foot race puck battle against their defensemen," Brown said. "I won that one and then kind of knifed through them, not exactly sure how. Maybe a blackout."
Arthur Kaliyev made it 4-1 at 7:02 of the third period.

The Panthers were outscored 12-3 in their past two games, including an 8-2 home loss against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
"The process of the game was very positive; the result was negative," Brunette said. "Now it's a couple in a row here, three in a row. I thought we had opportunities to win this hockey game. We didn't capitalize on our opportunities and they did."
NOTES:Maatta scored his first goal with the Kings and his first since he scored for the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 4, 2020, a span of 681 days. … Kopitar scored his 59th game-winning goal, tying Marcel Dionne for second on the Kings' all-time list. Luc Robitaille is first with 73. … Weegar played 31:32. … The other Florida players placed in COVID-19 protocol were forwards Frank Vatrano, Carter Verhaeghe and Ryan Lomberg, along with defensemen Radko Gudas and Brandon Montour. … Kings forward Blake Lizotte played 9:23 after missing the previous five games while in COVID-19 protocol. …. Florida matched its lowest goal of the season. The Panthers lost 4-1 to the Seattle Kraken at home on Nov. 27. Forward Cole Schwindt made his NHL debut for the Panthers and had five hits in 9:27.