The Vegas Golden Knights (5-1-2) suffered their first regulation loss of the season in a 3-0 decision against the Florida Panthers (5-5-0) Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
After scoring 20 goals in their last four games, the Golden Knights were shut out for the first time this year, snapping the club’s four-game winning streak as well as Jack Eichel’s season-opening point streak, which ended at seven games (16 points).
Akira Schmid suffered his first regulation loss as a member of the Golden Knights after going 6-0-1 in his first nine appearances. He was Vegas’ best player by a wide margin but finished the game with 22 saves on 25 shots for an .880 save percentage. He is now 4-1-0 on the year.
The Golden Knights got Brett Howden back in the lineup for the first time since Oct. 11. He skated with Colton Sissons and Keegan Kolesar on the fourth line; the trio was on the ice for two goals against.
Florida opened the scoring late in the first period, as Sam Reinhart broke in on a breakaway and beat Schmid glove-side to make it 1-0 at 17:19. This proved to be the game-winner.
Vegas took two penalties in the middle frame but killed off both. However, it felt as though the Golden Knights were barely hanging on. In the second period, the Panthers led 12-5 in shots, 20-5 in scoring chances and 7-1 in high-danger chances with an 82.55 percent expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick.
Thanks to Schmid’s solid play early, though, the Golden Knights trailed by just one after 40 minutes.
But the Panthers doubled their lead early in the third courtesy of former Golden Knights forward Cole Schwindt, who was claimed off waivers by Florida during the preseason.
Following a Vegas turnover behind the net, Schwindt was able to corral a rebound and fire it into the cage to make it 2-0 just 3:39 into the final frame. It was Schwindt’s second career NHL goal and first against a goalie after he scored an empty-netter last year with Vegas.
The Panthers made it 3-0 just past the midway mark of the frame on A.J. Greer’s third of the year. It was another rebound goal, this time on a wraparound.
The Vegas penalty kill went 3-for-3 on the night, but Vegas never threatened to mount any sort of comeback.
Aside from Eichel’s line, the Golden Knights had nothing going for most of the contest. Tomas Hertl was decent in the third period, but it was a lackluster effort by the road team from the start. Vegas recorded a season-low 17 shots, giving Sergei Bobrovsky a relatively easy night for his 50th career shutout.
Vegas wasn’t strong on the puck and didn’t win battles. It was a relatively lifeless performance by the Golden Knights, who seemed to be playing on a slight delay at various points throughout the game. They showed some energy in a scrum after the buzzer, but that was about it.
Simply put, Florida was the better team all night.
Vegas was anything but sharp, and the Panthers took full advantage. As Bruce Cassidy pointed out after the game, the Golden Knights had more giveaways (20) than shots (17).
“We weren’t good enough,” Cassidy said. “We weren’t competitive enough, we didn’t execute well enough. … We just didn’t make any plays with the puck tonight.”
If not for Schmid’s play in the first two periods, this could have been a much more lopsided loss for the Golden Knights.
“He was great,” Brayden McNabb said, describing Schmid as “calm, cool and collected. He made some big-time saves, especially in that second period. He gave us a chance to win, and he played well.”
It was a one-goal game for most of the contest, but the Golden Knights never found their game offensively.
“Sometimes it’s just one bounce to the net, and we weren’t able to find it,” Reilly Simth said. “[The Panthers] did a good job clearing the front of the net. They’re a good team. You’re not gonna win them all. We have to move on.”
Vegas will look to regroup ahead of tomorrow’s tilt against the Lightning, who also will be in the second half of a back-to-back after defeating the Ducks 4-3 earlier on Saturday.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.