"I think it's going to be a completely different game on both ends," Panthers forward Anthony Duclair said. "There's going to be different lineups on both sides. We didn't have our full team last game, but I liked the way guys came out. A couple guys had their first games and played pretty well. That's behind us now. We're a bit on a roll right now and want to keep things going."
Making a one-game pitstop at FLA Live Arena in between flights, the Panthers, who have a very road-heavy schedule in March, put on a show for their home fans as usual in a 6-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday in which Sam Reinhart shined bright with his second hat trick of the season.
Dishing out for assists during the game to break his own franchise single-season record for helpers, Jonathan Huberdeau ranks first in the NHL in assists (64) and second in points (82).
Scoring three times on the man advantage against the Flyers, the Panthers have registered at least one power-play goal in each of their past six games, going 12-for-25 (48%) in that span.
In net, Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves to improve to 30-6-3. But he'll get a breather tonight as Spencer Knight, who was recently recalled from the AHL, will man the cage in Los Angeles. In his last start, the 20-year-old rookie stopped 29 of 30 shots in a 6-1 win at Buffalo on March 7.
Reaching 40 wins faster than any other team in franchise history, the Panthers sit at 40-13-5 in the standings and own a five-point lead over the Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division.
"Our game management's gotten better," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "On the road, we've focused on little details that we maybe let slip earlier in the year. We've found ways to win games where maybe we didn't have our best game, and closed out games."
In second place in the Pacific Division with a record of 32-20-8, the Kings had strung together three straight wins before dropping both halves of a home-and-home series with the Sharks, including being on the wrong end of a 5-0 beatdown 24 hours ago on Saturday at San Jose.
After falling behind 3-0 in the first period, the Kings went on to surrender another goal in both the second and third periods. Unable to get their own offense going with a depleted lineup, Los Angeles couldn't get anything at all past Adin Hill, who pitched a 29-save shutout for San Jose.
Already without Drew Doughty (undisclosed), Mikey Anderson (upper body), Brendan Lemieux (lower body), Viktor Arvidsson (lower body), Alexander Edler (ankle) and Andreas Athanasiou (undisclosed), the Kings also lost Dustin Brown (upper body) to an injury against the Sharks.
"Our team right now has to forget about this one," Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said following the loss at San Jose. "It's done. But we've got to make a decision, if we're going to wallow in pity, or if we're going to attempt to overcome. We have a tough task ahead of us with the teams we're going to play, but we don't give ourselves a chance if we're going to wallow."
Doing a lot of the heavy lifting on offense, Anze Kopitar leads the Kings in assists (36) and points (51), while Adrian Kempe has scored the most goals (25). Among the team's healthy players, Trevor Moore (36) and Phillip Danault (35) have both also hit the 35-point plateau.
With Cal Petersen starting against the Sharks on Saturday, Jonathan Quick is expected to suit up in the 700th game of his NHL career and man the crease against the Panthers. In 33 games this season, the 36-year-old veteran owns a 15-11-7 record on top of a .907 save percentage.
"He doesn't give up on anything," Brunette said of Quick. "He doesn't give you anything for free. His competitive nature is unsurpassed in our game over the last 12-14 years that I've seen him."
Picking up wins in each of their last five games on the road, the Panthers can set a new franchise record for longest road win streak if they take care of business in Los Angeles.
Since Jan. 1, Florida has posted a 10-3-1 record away from home.
"We're going to get an LA team that's really fast," Brunette said. "They play hard and they don't give you much. It doesn't really matter who we have in the lineup, it's going to be that type of game against them every time. We have to be ready to play."
