Aaron Ekblad scored 40 seconds into the extra frame, pouncing on a loose puck before firing a shot past goaltender Malcolm Subban to lift the Panthers to victory over the Western Conference-leading Knights, a hard-fought win that exorcised some demons and avenged a tough 5-2 loss in Vegas on Dec. 17.
"We had some unfinished against these guys," said Ekblad, standing over a half-packed skate bag. "We capitalized on our opportunities going into the game." In a statement that seems like it could be said after nearly every game, Panthers coach Bob Boughner said that Aleksander Barkov "was the best player on the ice tonight" against Vegas. Florida's all-star center scored his league-leading fifth shorthanded goal of the season and finished the night with three points (1-2-3) - his team-leading 12th multi point game of the season.
"That was a big win for us against a pretty good team that has been pretty good this season," said Barkov said, who is tied with Pavel Bure for the most shorthanded goals in a season in Panthers history. "We beat them, so we've got a lot of confidence right now. I know it's only one game, but it was a big statement."
The Panthers (19-19-6) have won two out of three games after losing three straight. "It's building momentum," Ekblad said of the win." We like to play in five-game segments and try and get as many points as we can in those five-game segments. It's a great start to that five-game segment." The second game of that five-game segment will come Saturday night against the red-hot Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Florida has won each of its last two games in Music City, but will face-off against a Nashville team looking to extend its winning streak to a season-long five games.
The Predators (27-11-6) will be without both Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson, who have combined for 28 goals and 61 points this season. Forsberg hasn't played since suffering an upper-body injury in Minnesota on Dec. 29, while Arvidsson joined him on IR after sustaining an injury in practice on Monday.
Still, even without two of their stars, the Predators have persevered.
"It means we have a lot of depth and a lot of character," Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis told reporters in Nashville. "It seems to be someone different every night, filling in when we need it. That's what championship teams do." Pekka Rinne will likely get the nod in net for the Predators after stopping 27 of 29 shots to lead Nashville to victory against Arizona on Thursday. The all-star netminder has posted a 22-8-3 record with a 2.41 goals-against average and .925 save percentage this season.
For the Panthers, James Reimer, coming off his 17th consecutive start, might get the night off in favor of backup Harri Sateri. Boughner said after Thursday's practice that Sateri could make his first NHL start in Nashville, adding that the team would "play it by ear." But after making 33 saves against Vegas, there's a good chance they continue to roll with Reimer, who is 9-6-2 during his current streak of starts.
Florida is 4-3-2 in the second half of back-to-back sets this season.
"Even though it's a back-to-back, I think we'll be even better tomorrow," Boughner said.
