FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
– Jan. 3: D Uvis Balinskis re-signed to a two-year extension
PANTHERS vs. GOLDEN KNIGHTS
ALL-TIME vs. VGK: 5-5-1
ALL-TIME AWAY vs. VGK: 0-4-1
2023-24 vs. VGK: 1-1-0
CATS STATS
– Florida’s 2.51 goals against per game is the third-best mark among teams this season, while their 34.0 shots on goal per game is behind only EDM (34.1) for the league lead following games played Jan. 2.
KEEP IT ROLLING
Florida enters tonight’s game with wins in each of their past five contests since Dec. 23 vs. VGK. Their five-game win streak is tied for their longest of the season (also: Nov. 6-14). Florida and Edmonton are the only two clubs with multiple win streaks of at least five games this season. Over the course of this streak:
• The Cats have held their opponents to two or fewer goals in four of the five games, only allowing three goals to the Rangers in Dec. 29’s 4-3 win at Amerant Bank Arena. • Florida has outscored their opposition 19-9. • Aleksander Barkov leads Florida with nine points (0-9-9) and Sam Reinhart paces the club with six goals (6-0-6). • The Panthers have successfully killed off 10 of 11 opponent power plays (90.9%). • 12 different skaters have logged at least one point, and eight separate Panthers have tallied at least one goal. • Florida has out-shot their opponents by an average of 33.8 to 25.8. • Sergei Bobrovsky owns a 4-0-0 record, .927 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Panthers begin 2024 with a four-game road trip visiting Arizona, Vegas, Colorado, and St. Louis, respectively. Following their 4-1 win at ARI on Jan. 2, the Cats own an 11-7-2 record on the road this season. Florida has won three of their past four road contests since Dec. 16 at EDM (3-1-0).
• Sam Reinhart’s 13 road tallies (13-10-23) are behind only Artemi Panarin and Sidney Crosby (14 each) for the league lead following games played Jan. 2, • Reinhart’s seven road power-play goals and five game-winning goals on the road pace all NHLers. • Aleksander Barkov’s 19 road assists (6-19-25) are behind only Nikita Kucherov (23) for the league mark; Barkov’s 25 road points trail only Kucherov (33) and Jesper Bratt (26). • Florida’s 10 regulation wins on the road are behind only LAK (11) for the league lead. • The Panthers 2.35 goals against per game on the road are the second fewest after LAK (1.94). • The Cats are tied for the league lead in shots on goal per game on the road with OTT (33.6), while surrendering the fewest shots on goal per game on the road of any club (26.2).
SHORTHANDED SHUTDOWN
The Panthers have surrendered just two PPGA over their past 12 contests since Dec. 8. Over that span, Florida’s 92.9% penalty kill success rate leads the League. Sam Reinhart leads Florida with two shorthanded goals, including the game-winning goal Dec. 27 at Tampa Bay.
CATS AND GOLDEN KNIGHTS
The Panthers will face off against Vegas tonight for the second and final time during the 2023-24 regular season following Florida’s 4-2 win over the Golden Knights at Amerant Bank Arena on Dec. 23. In that game, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 of 25 VGK shots against to start Florida’s current five-game win streak. Aleksander Barkov has amassed 14 points (5-9-14) over 10 career regular season games vs. VGK, while Matthew Tkachuk has logged 20 points (9-11-20) in 15 career games against the Golden Knights.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES:
AGAINST THE PANTHERS
All-Time Series: (6-4-1); at Vegas: (5-0-0); at Florida: (1-4-1)
DEFENDING THE FORTRESS
With their 13-3-2 record at T-Mobile Arena this season, the Golden Knights have recorded 28 points at home, the third highest total in the NHL on home ice this season. In five regular-season trips to T-Mobile Arena, the Panthers have not earned a win. Vegas will play seven of its next eight games at home, the most home games the club has played during any stretch this season. The Golden Knights own an all-time record of 147-69-19 in 235 home games during the regular season, ranking fifth in the NHL since the 2017-18 season.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
The Golden Knights have scored first 20 times this season and are 10-0-1 when scoring first at home.
THE EAST COMES WEST
Vegas will welcome six Eastern Conference teams to T-Mobile Arena in January, the most eastern home matchups in a month this season. During the 2022-23 season, the Golden Knights posted a 22-8-2 record against the Eastern Conference (12-4-0 Atlantic, 10-4- 2 Metropolitan), the most wins against the conference in franchise history.
CLOSING TIME
The Golden Knights will close out their fourth regular season series this year with the Panthers on Thursday night. Vegas has already closed series with Dallas (3-0-0), Philadelphia (1-0-1), and Los Angeles (2-1-0).
IT’S TAKEAWAY TIME
Vegas is second in the NHL with 319 takeaways through 38 games played, behind only Chicago (362). Jack Eichel leads the NHL with 46 takeaways on the season, while Mark Stone is tied for third with 41
