"Knighter earned it," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said of the decision. "Two nice outings."
Punching their seventh ticket to the postseason in franchise history, the Panthers rode a four-goal third period to a 7-4 win in Nashville on Tuesday. Dominating possession throughout the game, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov each scored a pair of goals, while Owen Tippett, Frank Vatrano and Anthony Duclair also touched the twine as Florida fired off 55 shots.
Coming into the game in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky, Knight went a perfect 9-for-9 on saves.
"He's very poised," Panthers forward Noel Acciari said of Knight, who was suiting up at Boston College a little over a month ago. "Shooting on him, he's a bigger goalie and takes up more of the net. But what's impressed me is just his poise in net. He looks so comfortable out there."
Winning six of their last nine games, the Panthers currently occupy second place in the Central Division with a record of 32-14-5 and trail the Hurricanes by two points for the coveted top spot. Still fighting for seeding at this point, the Cats want to keep their foot on the gas.
"We want to be playing our best hockey going into the playoffs," Acciari said. "We know we clinched, but at the same time we want to be playing the same hockey that's got us here."
Putting up five points on the Predators for the second time this season on Tuesday, Huberdeau increased his team-leading total to 57. Barkov, meanwhile, ranks just behind him in scoring with 52 points and has accumulated 16 goals in his last 20 games to push his team-high total to 24.
As it stands now, the Panthers are the only team with two 50-point scorers in the division.
"He's an unbelievable player," Acciari said when asked about Barkov's season. "Last year he was great for us and this year he's taken it up another notch, which I didn't think was possible. He's a special player. ... He's got all the tools and uses them really well. It's really fun to watch."
In sixth place in the division with a record of 22-22-5, the Blackhawks have dropped four of their last seven games, including a 7-4 loss to the Lightning on Tuesday. In defeat, Brandon Hagel, Wyatt Kalnik, Duncan Keith and Dominik Kubalik all set off the red light for Chicago, while Kevin Lankinen and Malcolm Subban each surrendered three goals while splitting time in the crease.
Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks in scoring with 60 points (15 goals, 45 assists), while Alex DeBrincat paces the team and ranks 10th in the NHL with 23 goals. In six games against the Panthers so far this season, that duo has combined for 11 points (four goals, seven assists).
Acquired from Florida earlier this month, Vinnie Hinostroza has gotten off to a hot start during his second stint with Chicago. Entering tonight's tilt on a three-game point streak, the 27-year-old forward has produced nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 10 games since the trade.
Making his sixth start against the Panthers this season, Lankinen is expected to be between the pipes for the Blackhawks. Owning a 16-13-4 record with a .910 save percentage, the 26-year-old rookie goaltender has gone 2-2-1 with a .914 save percentage against Florida this season.
With only two games remaining against Chicago, Florida owns a 4-2-0 record in the season series, but has dropped the last two head-to-head matchups after winning each the first four.
"We want to keep playing the right way until the end," Quenneville said when asked about the mindset down the home stretch. "It's not an on and off switch here. We want to make sure that we continue on doing what we do, playing the right way and having fun along the way doing it."
