RECAP: Panthers 4, Mammoth 3

SALT LAKE CITY – Brought the good vibes of the team bonding onto the ice.

Improving to 15-12-2, the Florida Panthers won their third straight game after Anton Lundell lit the lamp with 52 seconds left to give the team a 4-3 victory over the Utah Mammoth at Delta Center on Wednesday night.

In the win, Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves.

“It’s big,” Lundell said of starting off with a win. “It’s always important to start the road trip well. We have a long road trip, so get the good vibes and two points for us.”

Tested early in the period, the penalty kill unit stepped up to prevent any damage during Utah’s power play.

An unfortunate turn of events for the Panthers in the middle of the frame, after A.J. Greer rang the post, Dylan Guenther got alone on a breakaway and put the Mammoth up 1-0 at 11:23.

Evening the score late in the period, the man they call “Swaggy” and “Mr. Clutch” did what he does best, scoring important goals.

With just 42 seconds left in the period, Carter Verhaeghe tapped in a long-range pass from Aaron Ekblad.

The goal was Verhaeghe’s seventh in his last seven games.

Starting the second period off with bang, Sam Bennett scored not once, but twice in a 1:44 span.

Putting the Panthers up 2-1, Bennett ripped in a shot past Karel Vejmelka on the rush at 1:40.

"Sam Bennett is as good a player as there is in the league right now," head coach Paul Maurice said after the win.

Shortly after, Bennett buried his ninth of the season on a backhand pass from Verhaeghe to make it 3-1 at 3:24.

Answering back just 13 seconds later, Guenther scored his second of the game on a breakaway to bring the score to 3-2.

Tying the game at 3-3 later in the period, Jack McBain put in a rebound at 14:37.

Coming up with some huge saves to keep the score as is, including stopping Clayton Keller on a two-on-one, Bobrovsky made nine high-danger saves through the first 40 minutes, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

“He was great,” Maurice said of Bobrovksy’s performance.

Getting a chance on the power play, Eetu Luostarinen came just inches short of putting in a loose puck, after the refs brought the play to review.

Not letting up, the Panthers took control of the third, outshooting the Mammoth 19-4 in the final frame.

“They played with an attacking mindset,” Bobrovsky said of the team’s play in front of him. “It was fun to watch.”

Rewarded for the efforts, Anton Lundell pushed the Panthers ahead with just 52 seconds left in the game, to give the Panthers a 4-3 win in their first game of the four-game road trip.

“We did a really good job of shutting down and a huge goal by Lundy at the end,” said Bennett.

THEY SAID IT

"We're definitely fortunate to have a team and an organization that buys into that stuff." – Sam Bennett on team bonding trips

“That was pretty good.” – Paul Maurice on Sergei Bobrovsky’s two-on-one save

CATS STATS

- Per NHL Stats, Carter Verhaeghe’s 79th multi-point game with the Panthers surpasses Scott Mellanby (78) for sole possession of the sixth most in franchise history

- Sam Bennett recorded a team-high three points (2G, 1A)

- Mackie Samoskevich led the Panthers with six shots

- Sergei Bobrovsky made 11 high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com

- Aaron Ekblad blocked four shots

WHAT’S NEXT?

Right back to it.

In their second game of the back-to-back, the Panthers will visit the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

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