Spencer Knight Pitches Shutout In Needed Win

SUNRISE, Fla. — Panthers head coach Paul Maurice made it very clear on Saturday that the schedule for starting goaltenders is scheduled through the end of the year, barring injury. It just so happens that backup goaltender Spencer Knight got the start against the Anaheim Ducks while he’s in the midst of one of the hottest streaks of his young career, on a night where the Panthers really needed a win.

The 23-year-old stopped all 34 shots he faced in a 2-0 victory. He has now allowed three goals in his last three starts with a combined .967 save percentage. The Panthers came into Saturday having lost three of their last four, with the one win also coming in a start by Knight.

Knight came in relief of veteran Sergei Bobrovsky in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, stopping all four shots he faced over the final 25 minutes of the game. Bobrovksy is having a dichotomous stretch to Knight, having allowed four goals in each of his last three games.

Maurice said at morning skate Saturday that he doesn’t change goaltenders based on who has “the hot hand.” 

Regardless of the reason for the start, Knight showed no signs of cooling down Saturday.

According to Natural Stat Trick, eight of Knight’s 34 saves came on high-danger shots, and the Ducks had 3.30 expected goals.

Multiple times, he had to stop a peppering of shots from Ducks shooters. 

While the Panthers were on a power play in the second period, Anaheim went down the ice for an odd-man rush, and Knight stoned former Panther Frank Vatrano. He followed it up with stopping four rebounds in quick succession. The 23-year-old wasn’t phased.

“He’s a strong man, and his explosiveness, I think it’s there. It’s always been there,” Maurice said. “Sometimes goalies want to be so perfect, so technical, that they lose their athleticism. And I think that’s something he and (goaltender coach) Rob Tallas kind of worked on from day one here, having confidence in his abilities as an athlete.”

Knight now has a .905 save percentage this year and is allowing 2.45 goals per game in 18 games.

As the icing on the cake to a perfect evening, Knight got the assist on an empty-net goal by Gustav Forsling in the waning seconds of the game.

Jesper Boqvist notches career high

After a scoreless first period from both teams, Jesper Boqvist ripped a shot past Ducks goaltender John Gibson with 8:38 left in the second.

11th goal of the season for J-Bo, a new career high! pic.twitter.com/3E1qyPx5VH

— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) January 19, 2025

It was the 11th of the season for the winger, which notches a career high, doing so after just 44 games. He had scored 10 with the Devils in 2021-22 and 2022-23, doing it in 56 and 70 games, respectively.

Boqvist signed a one-year deal with the Panthers over the summer, and the 26-year-old is possibly even better than advertised.

“Good opportunity to play with good players and a good team,” Boqvist said. “So try to work hard and have my stick on the ice, and then people will find me.”

His linemate Anton Lundell scored to go up 2-0 four minutes into the third period. Lundell fought for the puck in the neutral zone, forcing a takeaway, carried it into the offensive zone on his own and fired a wrister past Gibson.

Reinhart gets five and a game, penalty kill holds up

Sam Reinhart was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct late in the first period for kneeing Anaheim’s Isac Lundestrom.

Reinhart appeared to be going for a check against Lundestrom in the corner of the Panthers offensive zone. He whiffed on the hit, and – whether on accident or on purpose – extended his leg out and hit Lundestrom’s knee. 

The Ducks center immediately dropped to the ground and needed help from the training staff to get to the dressing room. He did not return to the game.

After allowing three power play goals to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, it felt like a ‘here we go again’ moment when the Panthers penalty kill unit was tasked with killing off the five-minute Anaheim power play. It inspired confidence that Thursday was a weird anomaly, because the Panthers kept the Ducks out of the net and allowed just two shots on goal for those five minutes.

The Panthers penalty kill was two-for-two on Saturday.