Carter Verhaeghe, Panthers drop Ducks again

Field Level Media|published: Wed 22nd January, 01:07 2025

Jan 21, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Robby Fabbri (13) moves in for a shot against Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist as the visiting Florida Panthers opened a four-game western road trip with a 5-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.

Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues, Sam Bennett and Uvis Balinskis also scored goals and Mackie Samoskevich and Tomas Nosek each added two assists for Florida, which completed a sweep of a home-and-away back-to-back with the Ducks. The Panthers also blanked Anaheim 3-0 on Saturday in Sunrise, Fla.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves for Florida, which extended its point streak against the Ducks to 10 games (9-0-1) dating back to Nov. 21, 2019.

Frank Vatrano and Mason McTavish scored for Anaheim, which lost its fourth straight game and seventh in eight. Lukas Dostal finished with 24 saves.

Anaheim, shut out in two of its previous three games, jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 4:57 mark of the first period. On the power play, Vatrano one-timed Troy Terry's pass from the slot.

Florida tied it 1-1 midway through the period when Reinhart, cutting in front of the crease, tucked in a backhand shot around Dostal's right pad for his 750th career point.

The two teams then combined for three goals on three shots over 75 seconds near the end of the period.

Rodrigues gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead when he finished an odd-man rush by slapping in a rebound of his own shot from the bottom of the right circle. Verhaeghe followed 52 seconds later when he roofed a wrist shot from the right circle following a Ducks turnover.

Anaheim then cut it to 3-2 at the 19:12 mark when McTavish finished a 2-on-1 break with a wrist shot inside the near post, past Bobrovsky's glove side.

Nineteen seconds into the third period, Bennett stretched the Panthers' lead to 4-2 when he snapped a shot from the high slot past Dostal's blocker side for his first goal since Dec. 3, ending a 20-game goalless drought.

Balinskis made it 5-2 at the 4:15 mark, when he whipped a wrist shot from above the circles through traffic past a screened Dostal's blocker side.

--Field Level Media

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