After suffering a stinging OT loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins — a team that was barely ahead of the Cats for a playoff spot — on Tuesday night, the Panthers will meet hockey royalty when the Kings come to town tonight.
Los Angeles has surprised a lot of people this season. With a 27-17-6 record, the Kings currently sit in third place of the Pacific Division.
Per
Jameson Olive
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In terms of lineup notes for tonight's matchup, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said after Thursday's practice that both Sam Bennett and Eric Staal "should be available" after missing time with injuries, but a decision on a starting goaltender won't be announced until later today.
During practice, both Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight were full participants along with Lyon. Bobrovsky has been out since Jan. 19 due to a lower-body injury. Knight hasn't played a game in the NHL since Jan. 8, but made two rehab starts in the AHL on Jan. 21 and Jan. 22.
Bobrovsky owns a 12-13-2 record with a .897 save percentage this season, while Knight has gone 9-7-3 with a .906 save percentage. In four appearances since being called up from the AHL on Jan. 10, Lyon has backstopped the Panthers to a solid 2-1-1 record.
"We've got three goalies on the ice," Maurice said. "The medical group is watching them and assessing where they're all at. They got through the day, but we'll wait until tomorrow morning before we get a feel for where they're at. How they come back the next day is important."”
Adding about the Kings:
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Occupying third place in the Pacific Division with a record of 27-17-6, the Kings broke out of a three-game losing streak by winning each of their last two games, including securing a 4-3 overtime win at Philadelphia on Tuesday in their last outing before heading to South Florida.
Trailing 3-2 late in the third period, Samuel Fagemo scored with 1:24 left on the clock to tie the game for the Kings and get the action into overtime. Just 1:09 into the extra frame, Kevin Fiala kept the puck himself on a 2-on-1 rush and ripped a shot into the twine to lock down the 4-3 win.
Fiala leads Los Angeles in assists (34) and points (51), while Adrian Kempe has scored the most goals (19). Anze Kopitar sits second in scoring with 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists). Overall, the Kings have seven players that have scored at least 30 points so far this campaign.
Pheonix Copley and Jonathan Quick have both seen ample time in net for the Kings. That being said, Copley has earned the bulk of the work as of late. Starting eight of the last 10 games, Copley has posted a stellar 14-3-0 record this season despite owning a .897 save percentage.”
Another big test tonight…
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