LAS VEGAS — The Golden Knights lost their third straight home game Monday night, as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers held on for a 3-2 victory.
Brad Marchand extended his goal streak to five games with his sixth goal in that span and 11th of the season, while Jesper Boqvist and Sam Reinhart also scored to lead the Cats.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for Florida.
Tomas Hertl and Ivan Barbashev scored in the third period, both goals drawing the Knights to within one goal. Rookie Carl Lindbom made 17 saves.
Vegas’ second-period woes continued, as it’s now been outscored 8-1 in the middle frame over its last nine games. The Knights opened the season tied for the league lead after outscoring teams 10-4 in the second period, but have struggled to find any rhythm offensively after the first intermission.
The power play has also been an issue, as the Knights went 0 for 3 with a man advantage and are now 3 of 29 with an extra skater in the last nine games.
KEY MOMENT: With what would eventually be the “sign of things to come,” Mitch Marner’s first-period miss at a wide-open net seemingly set the tone for how the night would go for Vegas. Marner deked Bobrovsky and had a wide-open look for a lift of the puck into the net. Maybe easier said than done, but Marner put too much on the puck, which appeared to deflect off Bobrovsky’s skate high over the goal and into the net… the one protecting the crowd above the end board.
KEY STAT: Florida is now 5-1 against Vegas since losing to the Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup. Prior to meeting in the Cup Final, Vegas had won seven of the first 10 regular-season meetings after entering the league. Then the Knights won the Cup in five games, culminating with a 9-3 demolition in Game 5. Since then, the Panthers have outscored Vegas 18-12 in winning five of six.
WHAT A KNIGHT: It’s hard to ignore what Lindbom has been thrust into since starter Adin Hill was sidelined with an injury on Oct. 20. Making just his fourth start, Lindbom (0-3-1, 3.25 GAA, .869 SV%) has now faced the Panthers, Colorado and Tampa Bay twice. In three of those games, Lindbom has faced former Vezina winners Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy. And over his four starts, the Knights have provided the rookie with eight goals of support, 2.0 per game.
UP NEXT: The Golden Knights conclude their season-long six-game homestand on Thursday against the New York Islanders.
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