RECAP: Golden Knights 4, Panthers 1

LAS VEGAS – The Florida Panthers finished their four-game road trip with an even split following a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.

Sitting at 29-19-3, the Panthers went 2-2-0 on their trip out west.

“It was a step forward as a team,” forward Anton Lundell said of the trip. “The road trip always brings the team together a little more. We were able to play some good hockey, even if we didn’t get the result in this game. Overall, I think it was a good step forward and we can keep building on this.”

Despite a strong road start from the Panthers, the Knights broke the ice when Brayden McNabb buried a blast from beyond the left circle to make it 1-0 at 5:26 of the first period.

A good start on the road, the Panthers led 11-7 in shots on goal after 20 minutes.

“We came out right,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “I liked the way that looked.”

Making the most of their limited opportunities, the Knights, who were sitting on just seven shots on goal at the time, doubled their lead in the second period when Tanner Pearson beat Spencer Knight with a wicked shot from the right circle to make it 2-0 at 5:40.

Keeping the deficit manageable, the Panthers stood tall against Vegas’ top-ranked power play later in the period. The biggest moment of the kill came when Knight shut his five-hole to deny Tomas Hertl on a breakaway.

“I think it’s good,” Knight, who finished with 22 saves, said of playing in tight games. “It’s not going to be easy. Teams like Vegas, that’s a playoff team. It’s hard to generate offense on them and they’re just really good. Playing those games is probably better for us.”

Getting the Panthers on the board early in the third period, Lundell dug in his skates near the crease and tipped in a shot from Eetu Luostarinen to make it 2-1 at 1:56.

Despite a strong push from the Panthers, the Knights regained their two-goal cushion when Jack Eichel cashed in on a breakaway to make it 3-1 at 11:31.

With 28.5 seconds left in regulation, Hertl locked in the 4-1 win for Vegas with an empty-net goal.

“I think today was a hard game again, and they played pretty well,” Lundell said. “We knew it was going to be a hard game. We’ve played them a lot during the last couple years. We knew them pretty well, but they played really good today.”

An incredibly tight game, the two recent Stanley Cup champions finished even in both shot attempts (55-55) and scoring chances (25-25) at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Maurice said of the road trip. “We go .500, and we’re not going to brag about that. We’ve been .500 for a month, but we just played 16 road games. Back-to-backs are a challenge for us, and we’re going to deal with it for the rest of the year. We want to keep these games tight, and we were able to do that for the most part.”

THEY SAID IT

“We just battled. We had a few games where we were able to score. I think our offensive talent was on display there, and we know what we can do. Then we played some teams like LA and Vegas and, man, they’re good defensively. They don’t give you any offense, and it’s hard. I know I have 100% confidence in this group. Guys could cheat the game and score whenever they want, but the thing is that guys in here are committed to winning and playing a team game.” – Spencer Knight on the road trip

CATS STATS

- The Panthers led 34-29 in scoring chances.

- Spencer Knight made six high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

- Aaron Ekblad saw a team-high 23:30 of ice time.

- Tomas Nosek led Florida’s forwards with four hits.

- Aleksander Barkov won a team-high 11 faceoffs.

WHAT’S NEXT?

It’s time to head home.

Looking for some revenge after their 2-1 loss at Los Angeles earlier this week, the Panthers will host the Kings for a rematch at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.