SUNRISE — There are a few teams the Florida Panthers truly get up to play. The Vegas Golden Knights are right up there, if not at the top of that list.
We get it.
The Panthers know at the road ahead and are not all that excited to be playing games in October.
They are a bit tired.
They know they have a target on their back.
A Saturday afternoon game in Buffalo makes them yawn.
But Saturday night at home against Vegas?
Bring that fire all day, every day.
“It’s probably respect more than anything else,’’ Paul Maurice said after the Panthers played their most complete game of this young season in a 3-0 win over Vegas on Hockey Night in Sunrise.
“They have such a good team, and they’re deep. They, like us, have some key people out of their lineup. But they can still put a really strong team on the ice and they’ve been off to a very good start. We were aware of how dangerous they can be.’’
The Vegas Golden Knights remain way up high on the Florida Panthers hit list, joining the likes of Tampa Bay, Boston, Carolina, and Edmonton.
Florida gets up for those games each and every time.
The Golden Knights, of course, brought these Panthers the most pain over the past couple of years, beating Florida in 5 for the Stanley Cup championship in 2023.
When Vegas won that title, the Panthers — to a man — stayed on the ice despite the lopsided loss and watched the Knights celebrate.
Downtrodden, sure, but that memory was seared into their collective psyche.
Members of the Florida Panthers stand by during the Stanley Cup presentation after the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals to win the Stanley Cup on June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
More pain was coming, whether it was having to spend that night in Vegas and seeing all of the celebration and then a solemn bus ride to the airport, or the hard work it took the following year to finally win it all themselves.
Regardless, the Golden Knights mean something special to the Panthers and, despite of how they are playing or how many players are out of the lineup, they are going to bring it when they play Vegas.
Saturday night was a prime example.
Florida (5-5-0) brought it from the tip after an emotional pregame where cancer survivors were brought out onto the ice, the Panthers again showing that they mean more to their community than just winning games and hanging banners.
This was a close game throughout, Sam Reinhart not breaking the ice until late in the first.
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Cole Schwindt, who was drafted by the Panthers in 2019 but spent all of last season and training camp with Vegas, made it 2-0 early in the third.
Sergei Bobrovsky earned his 50th NHL shutout against the highest-scoring team in the league yet Florida’s defense was so stifling, he officially earned the third star of the game because he only faced 17 shots on goal and 49 shot attempts.
Bobrovsky, not one to be a diva and suck up the glory, credited his team for doing the dirty work and keeping the Knights at bay throughout the night.
Yet even Bobrovsky could admit that beating Vegas (5-1-2) feels good.
The Panthers are 4-1 against the Golden Knights since they were blown out on The Strip back in Game 5.
“You know, when you play a good team, it’s always extra motivation,’’ Bobrovsky said diplomatically. “They are a good team. So, it’s always exciting to have that challenge.’’
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy really had no answers postgame for what happened.
“We weren’t good enough,” Cassidy said. “Why was that? I don’t have a great answer for you right now. … We weren’t competitive enough, did not execute well enough and we saw that on both power plays. We barely got in their zone. We just didn’t make any plays with the puck, and sometimes that happens.’’
The Knights flew east after having most of the week off, and until Saturday, were the last team in the league which had not lost in regulation.
Cassidy joked that perhaps Vegas should amend their travel schedule before coming to Fort Lauderdale in the future.
“We got out here a day early and you hope you have a little more jump,’’ Cassidy said, perhaps with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek.
“It went the other way. So, we look at that next time. Maybe fly out late night.’’
Cassidy did not have to be told his team is 0-3 in Sunrise since the Final.
“We don’t play well in this building for whatever reason,’’ he said.
ON DECK: GAME No. 11
ANAHEIM DUCKS @ FLORIDA PANTHERS
