Panthers beat Golden Knights in Vegas to complete season sweep
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Hours after being named to the All-Star roster, Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers defeated the the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 on Thursday night.
The Panthers won for the sixth straight time, while goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves to win his fifth consecutive start.
Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe also registered a goal and an assist, while Sam Bennett added a goal.
The Panthers completed a season sweep of the Knights, exacting revenge for last season’s five-game loss in the Stanley Cup Final.
It marked the second straight season the previous runner-up swept the reigning champion after Tampa Bay beat Colorado twice last season.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored for Vegas, which has lost six of its last seven.
Knights goaltender Logan Thompson made 32 saves but continues to struggle for wins, as he's lost three of his last four starts and 11 of 17 after opening the season 5-0. Thompson has now allowed three or more goals in six of his last eight starts.
As Florida’s Evan Rodrigues was being pushed off the ice on his hands and knees after blocking a shot, the Golden Knights were putting together their attack. Vegas captain Mark Stone’s initial shot was blocked, but Dorofeyev was there to slam home the rebound into an open net.
With the goal, Dorofeyev matched his point total (9) from last season, and with the assist, Stone did the same (38).
Vegas appeared to shake off Monday’s shutout loss at Seattle in the Winter Classic, as it dominated the action over the first eight minutes of the game.
But a penalty on William Carrier shifted momentum to Florida when Bennett was in perfect position to one-time a rebound off the end boards for the Panthers’ first power-play goal of the night.
They’d get another midway through the second when Tkachuk’s redirect off Brandon Montour’s shot from the point slipped past Thompson.
Verhaeghe silenced the crowd with a little more than a minute left in the period when he pounced on a loose rebound to the left of Thompson and notched his 20th of the season.
Reinhart scored his 25th goal of the season on a power play when he one-timed a pass from Tkachuk from the slot.
Florida finished 3 of 6 with a man advantage.
UP NEXT
Panthers: Visit Colorado on Saturday
Golden Knights: Host the Islanders on Saturday
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