The Florida Panthers opened their 2024 preseason slate with a strong showing on home ice.
Florida hosted the Nashville Predators for a split squad doubleheader at Amerant Bank Arena and came away with a pair of victories, winning the first game 3-2 and the second contest 6-2.
Spencer Knight started the first game for Florida and looked strong in goal, stopping all 19 shots sent his way.
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Knight was replaced by Cooper Black at the 10:52 mark of the second period.
The first goal of Florida’s preseason came off the stick of Sam Bennett, picking up a pass along the boards from Matthew Tkachuk and driving toward the net before sending a backhand through the legs of Nashville goaltender Matt Murray.
Sixth round pick Hunter St. Martin, who looked good during Florida’s Development Camp and rookie tournament over the summer, scored less than two minutes later to give the Panthers a quick 2-0 lead.
His goal was particularly impressive as linemate Gracyn Sawchyn, Florida’s second round pick last summer, forced a turnover that was helped by St. Martin’s forecheck which led directly to St. Martin depositing the puck behind Murray.
That’s the kind of goal that Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice will love to see, and for it to come from a pair of recent draft picks surely make more than a few people smile in Florida’s executive suite on Sunday.
Rasmus Asplund also scored during the second period and the Panthers held on to take the first game by a final of 3-2.
Florida came out on fire in the nightcap, scoring four goals during the game’s first 16:15.
Sam Reinhart, Josh Davies and Jesper Boqvist all scored power play goals while Gus Forsling added a snipe from the blueline to give the Cats a quick 4-0 lead.
Patrick Giles and Josh Davies each collected a goal and an assist in the 6-2 win.
Reinhart also added an assist on Jesper Boqvist’s goal, and his brother Adam added the final tally of the night midway through the third period.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped six of the seven shots he faced during the first 30:31 of game two while Chris Driedger faced 19 shots and stopped all but one of them to close out the win.
About six minutes into the third period, Panthers forward Tomas Nosek took a hard fall into the boards after being tripped by Nashville’s Jeremy Lauzon.
He left the game and did not return, and Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice did not have an update afterwards.
Florida will be off on Monday before getting back to work at the IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday.
The Panthers will be back in action on Wednesday when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Orlando.
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