Gustav Forsling secured the game-winning goal with just 16.2 seconds left in overtime, lifting the Florida Panthers to a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night.
Sam Reinhart stood out for the Panthers, scoring a goal and providing two assists in a thrilling battle between the last two Stanley Cup champions. Sam Bennett and Eetu Luostarinen also contributed goals, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves to help secure the win for Florida.
Vegas saw goals from Tanner Pearson, who added an assist, and Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar. Nicolas Roy also notched two assists, but the Golden Knights squandered three one-goal leads throughout the game. Ilya Samsonov was busy in the net for Vegas, making an impressive 45 saves.
Takeaways
Golden Knights: Despite their early leads, the Golden Knights were heavily outshot, 49-26 overall and 21-6 from the beginning of the third period onward, struggling to keep up with Florida’s relentless offense.
Panthers: Florida extended its point streak to four games (3-0-1), despite being shorthanded without key forwards Aleksander Barkov (lower-body injury) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness). They were also down one skater in this game due to an injury to Jonah Gadjovich and salary cap limitations.
Key Moment
Eetu Luostarinen scored the game-tying goal with 7:17 left in regulation, finishing off a pass from Sam Reinhart, who collected the rebound from an Aaron Ekblad slap shot. Ekblad also contributed two assists during the night.
Key Stat
Sam Reinhart continued his hot streak, tallying four goals and nine points over a five-game point streak.
Up Next
The Golden Knights will host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, while the Panthers will finish their three-game homestand against the Minnesota Wild.