"We've got to continue how we've been playing for the last month," Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas said after Thursday's practice. "I think we've just got to take it one game day at a time, keep our heads down and grind through the rest of the season. With the way we've been playing the last month, if we continue that, then we're only going to get better. We're only going to trust each other more and more on the ice and it's going to develop into something dangerous."
Playing nine road games during the month of January, the Panthers closed out their final trip of the month with a 7-6 overtime loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first period, Florida fell behind 3-2 before regaining leads at 4-3 and 5-4 during a back-and-forth contest.
Trailing 6-5 late in the third period, Carter Verhaeghe scored with 2:32 left in regulation to make it 6-6, get the game to overtime and secure a crucial point for the Panthers. On the power play in the extra frame, Kris Letang blasted home a one-timer to lock in the 7-6 win for the Penguins.
Verhaeghe lit the lamp twice in the loss, while Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad and Colin White each scored once for the Panthers. Between the pipes, Alex Lyon, making his fourth straight appearance, turned aside 42 shots, including racking up 12 high-danger saves.
Dishing out two assists in defeat, Aleksander Barkov, a 2023 NHL All-Star, extended his point streak to nine games, matching his career high. With 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists) in 40 games this season, the captain has tallied 13 points (four goals, nine assist) during his streak.
Named to the All-Star Game on Monday, Barkov will join Tkachuk, who leads Florida in goals (T-25), assists (37) and points (62), at the annual star-studded event.
"We are thrilled that Sasha will be joining Matthew to represent our franchise and South Florida to the hockey world at the 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend," Panthers General Manager Bill Zito said in a release. "Sasha is our leader on the ice and in our locker room, consistently conducting himself in a first-class manner, acting as a mentor to our younger players. He is one of the National Hockey League's best all-around players and is fully deserving of the title of All Star."
In terms of lineup notes for tonight's matchup, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said after Thursday's practice that both Sam Bennett and Eric Staal "should be available" after missing time with injuries, but a decision on a starting goaltender won't be announced until later today.
During practice, both Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight were full participants along with Lyon. Bobrovsky has been out since Jan. 19 due to a lower-body injury. Knight hasn't played a game in the NHL since Jan. 8, but made two rehab starts in the AHL on Jan. 21 and Jan. 22.
Bobrovsky owns a 12-13-2 record with a .897 save percentage this season, while Knight has gone 9-7-3 with a .906 save percentage. In four appearances since being called up from the AHL on Jan. 10, Lyon has backstopped the Panthers to a solid 2-1-1 record.
"We've got three goalies on the ice," Maurice said. "The medical group is watching them and assessing where they're all at. They got through the day, but we'll wait until tomorrow morning before we get a feel for where they're at. How they come back the next day is important."
Occupying third place in the Pacific Division with a record of 27-17-6, the Kings broke out of a three-game losing streak by winning each of their last two games, including securing a 4-3 overtime win at Philadelphia on Tuesday in their last outing before heading to South Florida.
Trailing 3-2 late in the third period, Samuel Fagemo scored with 1:24 left on the clock to tie the game for the Kings and get the action into overtime. Just 1:09 into the extra frame, Kevin Fiala kept the puck himself on a 2-on-1 rush and ripped a shot into the twine to lock down the 4-3 win.
Fiala leads Los Angeles in assists (34) and points (51), while Adrian Kempe has scored the most goals (19). Anze Kopitar sits second in scoring with 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists). Overall, the Kings have seven players that have scored at least 30 points so far this campaign.
Pheonix Copley and Jonathan Quick have both seen ample time in net for the Kings. That being said, Copley has earned the bulk of the work as of late. Starting eight of the last 10 games, Copley has posted a stellar 14-3-0 record this season despite owning a .897 save percentage.
Facing off for the second and final time this season, Verhaeghe scored a pair of goals for the Panthers during a 5-4 loss to the Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Nov. 5.
"A big push here to the end on a back-to-back," Maurice said.
