Los Angeles Kings at Florida Panthers
· National Hockey League
Bennett scores big goal early in 3rd, Panthers stay hot by topping Kings 3-2 for 6th win in 7 games
Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida, which has won six of its last seven games. Daniil Tarasov made 27 saves for the Panthers, including a breakaway stop against the Kings' Trevor Moore with just under five minutes left to preserve a one-goal lead.
Joel Armia and Kevin Fiala had the goals for Los Angeles, which fell to 0-2-2 in its last four contests. The four-game winless streak matches a season-long slide for the Kings, who were 0-2-2 from Oct. 11 through Oct. 18 as well.
Anton Forsberg stopped 25 shots for the Kings. Armia had the only goal in the first period, and Fiala made it 3-2 when a clearing attempt by Florida deflected off his shin and past Tarasov with 15:12 left.
Los Angeles had a chance in the final minutes to tie the game, after Florida's Anton Lundell was called for high-sticking with 3:05 left. The Kings managed only one shot on the ensuing power play — about half of which was with a two-man advantage after Forsberg was pulled for an extra attacker — and the Panthers held on from there.
Bennett's goal that gave Florida a 3-1 lead tied for the third-fastest to start any period this season.
Kirill Marchenko scored for Columbus seven seconds into a second period against Minnesota on Oct. 11; Jackson Lacombe scored for Anaheim nine seconds into a second period against Vancouver on Nov. 26; and Connor McDavid scored for Edmonton 10 seconds into a third period against Buffalo on Dec. 9.
Panthers: Host Carolina on Friday night.
Regular Season SeriesFLA wins series 2-0
Scoring Summary
 |
Goal | 1st Period 13:39 | Joel Armia Goal (8) Tip-In, assists: Brandt Clarke (10), Alex Laferriere (8) |
 |
Goal | 2nd Period 2:14 | Anton Lundell Goal (11) Tip-In, assists: Aaron Ekblad (10), Mackie Samoskevich (13) |
|
Goal | 2nd Period 7:04 | Carter Verhaeghe Goal (11) Wrist Shot, assists: Jeff Petry (7), Brad Marchand (17) |
|
Goal | 3rd Period 0:10 | Sam Bennett Goal (11) Deflected, assists: Brad Marchand (18) |
|
Goal | 3rd Period 4:48 | Kevin Fiala Goal (12) Deflected, assists: none |
Statistics
 LA |
 FLA |
|
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Blocked Shots | 21 |
| 16 | Hits | 28 |
| 5 | Takeaways | 5 |
| 29 | Shots | 29 |
| 1 | Power Play Goals | 1 |
| 4 | Power Play Opportunities | 4 |
| 25.0 | Power Play Percentage | 25.0 |
| 0 | Short Handed Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 31 | Faceoffs Won | 27 |
| 53.4 | Faceoff Win Percent | 46.6 |
| 12 | Giveaways | 11 |
| 4 | Total Penalties | 3 |
| 8 | Penalty Minutes | 8 |
Florida Panthers Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Seth Jones, D | Injured Reserve | Jan 19 |
| Brad Marchand, LW | Injured Reserve | Jan 17 |
| Jonah Gadjovich, LW | Injured Reserve | Jan 5 |
Los Angeles Kings Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Anze Kopitar, C | Injured Reserve | Jan 22 |
| Trevor Moore, LW | Injured Reserve | Jan 22 |
| Drew Doughty, D | Day-To-Day | Jan 21 |
Game Information
Amerant Bank Arena
Location: Sunrise, FL
Attendance: 19,612 | Capacity:
Location: Sunrise, FL
Attendance: 19,612 | Capacity:
