RECAP: Knight makes 40 saves as Panthers shut out Hurricanes

SUNRISE, Fla. -Spencer Knight turned aside all 40 shots he faced to help the Panthers open up their five-game homestand with an impressive 3-0 win over the Hurricanes at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday.
Winning each of their last two games, the Cats now sit at 8-5-1 on the season.
"It was good," said Knight, who improved his personal record to 5-1-0. "There are a lot of games where I try not to look at how many goals I give up. I think it's overrated, sometimes, getting shutouts. I think just finding a way to win is the biggest thing. I feel confident when we win 5-4, but sometimes you win 3-0. It was a good team effort."

Of Knight's 40 saves, 17 were considered high-danger, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
"He looked really solid," Panthers forward Nick Cousins said. "He looked calm. He's got a bright future in this league. He plays with so much poise. It doesn't seem like he's so young. It looks like he's been in the league 5-10 years. He looks good back there and we're lucky to have him."
Providing Knight with the only goal he'd end up needing, Cousins got the Panthers get on the board early. Following up on a point shot from Brandon Montour, Cousins swept the ensuing rebound around Antti Raanta's diving paddle to make it a 1-0 game at 9:21 of the first period.
Given that the Panthers were playing in their first home game following a four-game trip to the West Coast, head coach Paul Maurice said a good start would be key against the Hurricanes. Accepting that challenge, the Panthers looked in control throughout the entire opening period.
"It might have been the best 10 minutes of our season," Cousins said of the start. "All four lines were rolling over the boards, getting on the forecheck and making it hard on the other team. That's a big statement win. I think it's a step in the right direction for the way we have to play."
Following a scoreless second period, the Panthers doubled their lead midway through the third when Aleksander Barkov charged right down the slot and tapped a centering saucer pass from Carter Verhaeghe past Raanta from near the top of the blue paint to make it 2-0 at 10:20.

Over the past four games, Florida has gone 4-for-14 (28.6%) with the man advantage.
"We have the right mindset," said Barkov, who has scored all three of his goals this season on the power play. "We're trying to get pucks to the net. We recognize that they have a really good penalty kill and they pressure us really hard, so there's not going to be too many clean plays. You have to find your chances and put more pucks to the net and create chances from that."
With Knight making 18 saves over the final 20 minutes to keep the door slammed shut on the Hurricanes, Sam Bennett dashed any hopes of a miraculous comeback for Carolina when he scored on an empty net to give the Panthers a 3-0 advantage with six seconds left on the clock.
With an assist on Bennett's goal, Montour picked up his third point of the game. Stepping up in the absence of Aaron Ekblad, Montour has climbed into third place among NHL defensemen in scoring with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists), including seven points in last two games alone.
"He always had that type of game in him," Barkov said. "He can lead that way and he can put up points. He's always on the right side of the puck. He's not cheating at all. He's making the right plays - easy plays, simple plays. Then, of course, he has enough skill to create chances."
Over their past 17 regular-season games at home, the Panthers have gone 15-1-1.
"We were right on with speed," Maurice said. "That first period might've been our best in terms of how we moved the puck and generated some things. I think it's a pretty adaptable group. I think they're willing to change the way they view the game. They're not nearly as stubborn, maybe, as you'd find with a team that's had some scoring success. They've been willing to accept the fact that the games look different every night."
Climbing the all-time wins leaderboard, Maurice earned his 783rd career win as an NHL head coach to overtake Islanders legend Al Arbour (782) for sole possession of sixth place in NHL history.
"That's the hockey I grew up on," Maurice said. "Those are legends and mentors for me."

KEY QUOTES

"He's played a ton of hockey in the last five or six games. He's just been driving himself. I was happy specifically that it was him. He does a lot of heavy things under pucks - battle things - that skill players don't necessarily have to do, and he's done them. It's all well and good that he's playing that game, but he needs to get the payoff, too. He needs to be the guy that scores the big goals because he's earned the right to. I'm happy for him." - Paul Maurice on Aleksander Barkov's third-period goal.
"I think most of the time we played exactly how we wanted. Some minutes in the second period we made little mistakes, but I think it helps us to know [the Hurricanes] are going to push the whole game, so we have to be on our toes. They're going to have their moments and their chances, but we have a good goalie in the net and good defense."- Aleksander Barkov on the Panthers playing a full 60 minutes against Carolina.

CATS NOTES

• Eric Staal skated in the 1,300th regular-season game of his career.
  - Anton Lundell registered a team-leading 61.90 CF% at 5-on-5.
  - Sam Bennett has scored goals in back-to-back games.
  - Carter Verhaeghe extended his point streak to four games.
  - Aleksander Barkov scored the 65th power-play goal of his NHL career and moved into a tie with Olli Jokinen for second place in franchise history.
  - Spencer Knight has posted a 13-3-0 record in his career at FLA Live Arena.
  - Radko Gudas blocked a team-high four shots.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Panthers (8-5-1) will continue their homestand with a matchup against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (8-6-0) at FLA Live Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.
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