"The main focus is that they're a really good team," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of Vegas. "They've hit a little bit of a rough spot and they're desperate right now. It's a desperate time of year, so we've got to expect their best and be ready to go here."
In first place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 41-13-6, the Panthers rebounded from a shootout loss in Los Angeles to start their West Coast swing with a 3-2 overtime win in San Jose on Tuesday in which Frank Vatrano scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner.
Ending his time with the Panthers on a high note, Vatrano was then traded to the Rangers on Wednesday for a fourth-round pick that the team later packaged with a first-round pick and prospect Ty Smilanic to make a splash and acquire veteran defenseman Ben Chiarot from the Canadiens.
"It's exciting to add him to the group," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said of bringing in the 6-foot-3, 234-pound behemoth to man the blue line. "He's such a presence on the ice. Any time you can add one of those guys and not have to play against them anymore, that's a bonus."
A veteran of 469 career regular-season games, Chiarot paced Montreal's defensemen in goals (7), points (18), shots on goal (96) and average ice time (23:33) over 54 games this season. Last season, he also played a key role in helping the Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final.
"They have a great chance of making a nice run," Chiarot said of joining the Panthers. "I'm definitely hungry to get back there. Once you've been on the ice when another team is hoisting the Stanley Cup, it only makes you hungrier to get back there and want that for yourself."
Due to immigration, Chiarot doesn't expect to join the team until next week in Montreal.
"I'm really excited to get him," Brunette said. "I've seen him play so much when I was in Minnesota and he was in Winnipeg. Lots of battles. He's competitive and kind of exactly the type of player that we were looking for. He's really good defensively, does a lot of good things."
Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers and ranks second in the NHL in scoring with 84 points, including a league-leading 65 assists. Second on the team in scoring with 60 points, Aleksander Barkov has scored a team-high 26 goals, with nine of those goals coming on the power play.
Sitting out Tuesday's game because he wasn't feeling well, Sergei Bobrovsky could potentially return to the crease for the Panthers in Vegas. One of only three goaltenders in the NHL to post 30 wins, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner owns a 30-6-3 record with a .917 save percentage.
If he can't go, Spencer Knight, who is 4-1-1 over his last six starts, will get the nod.
Once thought to be one of the favorites to come out of the Western Conference, the Knights suddenly find themselves fighting to stay in the playoff picture after their losing streak reached five games with a 7-3 defeat at Winnipeg on Tuesday to close out a rough five-game road trip.
With starting goaltender Robin Lehner out with an injury, Vegas yielded a season-high seven goals against the Jets. After starting the game, Laurent Brossoit was pulled after stopping just nine of 13 shots he faced, while rookie Logan Thompson stopped seven of 10 shots in relief.
In addition to missing their top netminder, the Knights are also currently missing three of their top forwards in Mark Stone, Reilly Smith and Max Pacioretty. Providing a large chunk of the team's offense, that trio has combined for 95 points (39 goals, 56 assists) this campaign.
But even without those key players, the offense still packs a punch in the form of Jonathan Marchessault (47 points), Chandler Stephenson (45 points) and Shea Theodore (36 points).
Sitting at 32-26-4 and clinging to a one-point lead over the Stars and Canucks for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, Vegas, which made the playoffs in each of its first three seasons, has gone 4-10-1 since Feb. 9 while being outscored 53-33 during that stretch.
In their only previous meeting with Vegas this season, Knight turned aside 24 shots and Sam Bennett scored two goals to guide the Panthers to a 4-1 win at FLA Live Arena on Jan. 27.
"They're fighting for a playoff spot," Reinhart said. "They're going to be a desperate team."
