The Florida Panthers came home from a tricky four-game road trip with the result they needed most: a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings and a 2-0-2 finish to open the season away from home.
It wasn’t pretty for long stretches, but the Panthers kept leaning on the parts of their game that have been working. They were sturdy at 5-on-5, got another solid night in goal from Jacob Markström, and cashed in just enough offense to leave Los Angeles with two points.
Florida had to climb out of a hole again, though. For the third straight game, the Panthers were chasing after the first period, this time with former Panther Erik Haula helping create the opening goal. Haula emerged from a scrum below the goal line and fed Alex Laferriere, who finished into an open net with Markström guarding the far post.
The response came early in the second period after Florida had already put together a strong penalty kill. Seth Jones tied it at 3:49, taking a cross-ice pass from Lars Eller before driving hard to the net, switching from backhand to forehand, and beating Darcy Kuemper.
Then came the play that decided it. With 8:40 left in regulation, Sam Bennett did the heavy lifting on Matthew Tkachuk’s winner.
Bennett powered into the middle of the Kings’ defense and kept the puck alive before moving it to Tkachuk, whose backhand pass started the rush. Tkachuk then fired a wrister from the left circle that slipped through Kuemper’s pads and over the line, giving Florida its first lead of the season.
Markström made the edge stand up, stopping 19 shots and turning in one especially sharp kick save on Adrian Kempe early in the game. He’s now 2-0-1, with a 1.27 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and that shutout against the Carolina Hurricanes already on the books.
The one real downer came late in the second period when Brad Marchand left with an injury. Marchand was driving the net when Brandt Clarke high-sticked him in the face, and the sequence sent him crashing into the right post.
The 38-year-old, who had just returned to the lineup in Anaheim, was holding his left knee in pain and had to be helped off the ice. He’ll need to be evaluated, but the initial read is not encouraging.
Even with that scare, Florida got plenty out of the trip. Six points out of eight, a four-game point streak to start the season for just the sixth time ever, and a road swing that showed a lot of the right ingredients. The penalty kill held up well outside of the Ducks game, the team stayed engaged physically, and the goaltending was strong.
The one area still begging for a fix is the power play. Florida went 0-for-6 against the Kings, and the unit remains a frustrating mess. The Panthers would also like to see Brady Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart get on the board before November.
Now they head home, where they’ll get three days to rest and practice before Saturday night’s home opener against Kirill Kaprizov and the Minnesota Wild.
The Five Hole
Matthew Tkachuk joined Eetu Luostarinen as the only other Panthers player with two goals on the road trip. Tkachuk and Garnet Hathaway each had a game-high five hits.
Sam Bennett and Lars Eller matched Tkachuk with three points on the trip, and all three are riding three-game point streaks.
Jones’ tying goal was his first goal and point of the season. He led Florida with 25:33 of ice time and finished with two shots, two hits and a block.
Gustav Forsling and Carter Verhaeghe were the only Panthers to finish plus-two. Each had two shots on Darcy Kuemper, who stopped 26.
With Aaron Ekblad still out, Uvis Balinskis drew into the lineup again and played 14:13, adding one shot on goal.
In Other News...
Panthers Suddenly Have Much Less Reason To Chase Dylan Larkin
Aleksander Barkovs lower-body injury changes the calculus in Florida, even if it does not appear to change the long-term outlook. The Panthers captain is expected to miss six to eight weeks, but he will not need surgery, which at least keeps the door open for a cleaner return later in the season. In the short term, though, it leaves the Panthers without their top center and naturally invites a little roster-watching from the outside.
That is where the Dylan Larkin chatter had started to build, with the Detroit center back in the lineup after an injury and a trade request, then taking his share of boos before helping the Red Wings win. For Florida, the Barkov timeline makes a major center pursuit look far less pressing, and maybe far less realistic. The speculation had some traction because of the Panthers need, but with Barkov set to come back in a matter of weeks rather than months, the urgency around chasing a headline-grabbing fix has taken a noticeable hit. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Have Another Injury Concern Fans Feared
Floridas injury picture got a lot murkier against the Kings when Brad Marchand went down with a lower-body injury and had to be helped off the ice. It came in just his second game back after offseason surgery, a reminder that the Panthers were still easing him into the lineup and hoping to get another veteran presence back into the fold without issue.
The timing made the scene even more uneasy for a team already bracing for captain Aleksander Barkov to miss six-to-eight weeks with a lower-body injury. Marchands status now becomes another important storyline for a club trying to hold things together early in the season while key pieces are already on the shelf. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Suddenly Have A Pavel Zacha Question They Cant Ignore
The Bruins attention may be on Pavel Zachas uncertain contract situation and the trade talk swirling around him, but the ripple effects reach well beyond Boston. Around the league, the market is still moving in the same cautious way, with Patrik Laine remaining unsigned as a free agent and David Perron also searching for a new home, while teams continue to weigh cap space, roster fit and timing. For the Florida Panthers, that broader churn matters because every move around a rival can shift the outlook in the Atlantic and alter how quickly teams try to solve their own lineup questions.
Florida already has enough on its plate with Aleksander Barkov expected to miss 6-8 weeks, and now it is also waiting for more clarity on Brad Marchands lower-body injury. The Panthers have not given a diagnosis or a timeline, leaving one of their most important late-season additions in limbo at a time when their margin for error is already thin. Between the uncertainty in Boston and the questions in Sunrise, the divisions picture is changing by the day, and the next update could carry real weight for the Panthers. [Read more 🡒]