With Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett both back in the lineup, the Panthers secured a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in their last outing on Saturday. Making an immediate impact, Bennett scored the opening goal for Florida, while Barkov dished out a pair of primary assists.
Continuing his breakout season, Montour also tallied two helpers against the Penguins to push his point total on the season to 51 (11 goals, 40 assists). In doing so, the 28-year-old became just the fifth defenseman in franchise history to accumulate at least 50 points in a single season.
"I don't think I ever set goals for numbers in that aspect, but have I thought that I could get there? For sure," Montour said. "Kudos to coaches for believing in me, and players that can put the puck in the net also helps. A long ways to go until the end of the year."
With no lineup changes expected against the Knights, Sergei Bobrovsky will man the crease once again after turning aside 31 of 32 shots against the Penguins. In the zone for a while now, Bobrovsky owns a 7-4-0 record with an outstanding .929 save percentage in his last 11 starts.
Adding a clip to his personal highlight reel against Pittsburgh, Bobrovsky gave the Panthers a shot in the arm when he sprawled out to rob Sidney Crosby of a surefire goal with his blocker in the second period.
Since Feb. 6, Bobrovsky ranks second in the NHL with 109 high-danger saves.
"A great effort," Bobrovsky said after the win. "It was high intensity. It was fun to be part of. We protected the house very well. The sticks, backcheck, everything was at a very high-end level."
Leading the Pacific Division, the Knights improved to 38-19-6 with a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. In the win, Vegas was led by two of their trade-deadline acquisitions as Ivan Barbashev scored twice and Jonathan Quick turned aside 25 of 28 shots in net.
After enduring a four-game losing streak, Vegas has won nine of its last 12 games.
Facing off for the second time this season, the Knights came from behind to beat the Panthers 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Jan. 12. After Sam Reinhart scored on the power play to put Florida up 2-1 in the second period, Vegas went on to score three unanswered goals in the third period.
That being said, the Panthers still view that game as a turning point in their season.
"We were on that quest to get to a level of compete that's not easy to find, and I thought for big chunks of that game we were really hard and really good," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "They're a very deep hockey team on the other side, and it was their fourth line that did all the damage. It was that kind of game."
Chandler Stephenson leads the Knights in scoring with 50 points (12 goals, 38 assists), while Jack Eichel is nipping at his heels with 48 points (23 goals, 25 assists). Behind them, Jonathan Marchessault (42) and Reilly Smith (40) have both crossed the 40-point mark as well.
Yet to announce a starting goaltender, Vegas could go back to Aidin Hill against the Panthers after Quick got the nod against Montreal. Starting three of the last four games, Hill, who made 38 saves against Florida in January, has gone 16-6-1 with a .914 save percentage this season.
Overall, Florida owns a 3-1-0 career record against Vegas at FLA Live Arena.
"It's definitely a different little buzz around the room," Panthers forward Colin White said of gearing up for the home stretch. "It's exciting. You're a lot more confident when you have your full group out there. It showed in our play last game, and hopefully we can continue that here."
