Picking up four out of a possible eight points on their recent road trip, the Panthers closed out their four-game trek with a 7-3 loss to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
After the Panthers went up 2-1 in the first period on goals from Nick Cousins and Matthew Tkachuk, the Predators scored five straight goals before Sam Reinhart tipped in a shot on the power play to stop the bleeding and cut Florida's deficit to 6-3 with just over 10 minutes left in regulation.
In net, Sergei Bobrovsky surrendered four goals on 11 shots before being replaced by Spencer Knight in the second period. In just over 30 minutes of relief between the pipes, Knight, who's only played in two games since Jan. 8 due to an injury, turned aside 12 of 14 shots.
Overall, Bobrovsky is 9-4-1 with a .911 save percentage in his last 15 appearances.
Earning at least one point in 17 of his last 21 games, Tkachuk leads the Panthers and ranks fourth in the NHL in scoring with 76 points (28 goals, 48 assists). Carter Verhaeghe is second on the team in points (51) and first in goals (29), while Aleksander Barkov is third in points (50).
After exiting Saturday's loss with an injury, defenseman Radko Gudas should be "good to go" against the Ducks, per Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. Additionally, forwards Sam Bennett and Anthony Duclair, who hasn't played this season, could return to action as early as Friday.
"It'll be an opportunity, for sure," Maurice said of Florida's upcoming stretch at home. "We've paid for that in full with the schedule that we've had. You've got that game [against the Ducks] and then three days coming off it to get some rest."
In the cellar of the Pacific Division, the Ducks sit at 17-33-6 and are tied for the fewest points in the NHL with 40. On a four-game losing streak, they've allowed at least six goals in each game in that stretch, including a 6-3 loss against the Los Angeles Kings in their last outing on Friday.
Kevin Shattenkirk, Mason McTavish and Frank Vatrano all lit the lamp against Los Angeles, with Vatrano's goal at 13:10 of the third period pulling the Ducks to within a goal at 4-3. On the power play, Viktor Arvidsson quelled Anaheim's rally when he scored to put the Kings up 5-3 at 15:30.
In net, John Gibson made 35 saves on 40 shots for Anaheim.
"I thought our guys played hard," Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins told reporters when asked about his team's effort after the loss. "They competed hard. It certainly wasn't a three-goal game."
Trevor Zegras leads Anaheim in scoring with 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists), while Troy Terry is second with 42 points (13 goals, 29 assists). In the hunt for the Calder Trophy, Mason McTavish ranks fourth on the team and second among NHL rookies with 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists).
The main man between the pipes for the Ducks, Gibson, who has started eight of the last 11 games, has posted a 10-23-5 record with a .897 save percentage and one shutout this season.
Facing off for the second and final time this season, the Panthers terrorized Gibson en route to a 5-3 win at Honda Center on Nov. 6. Sam Reinhart scored a pair of goals for the Panthers, while Montour was named first star of the game after racking up four points (one goal, three assists).
Dating back to 2019, Florida owns a 5-0-0 record against the Ducks.
