Happy with recent effort, Ducks turn to face struggling Panthers

The Anaheim Ducks and the host Florida Panthers, who are set to meet on Saturday in Sunrise, Fla., both lost on Thursday.

The Ducks seemed kind of happy with the loss. The Panthers, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, definitely were not thrilled.

"Our effort was great," Ducks forward Robby Fabbri said after Anaheim fell 4-3 in a shootout at the Tampa Bay Lightning. "These are the fun ones -- coming into these buildings, playing great teams and sticking with them.

"We got pucks to the net, and that's the only way we're going to score. We gave ourselves the best chance to win. Unfortunately, we couldn't come up with both points."

Ducks coach Greg Cronin liked how his team put 37 shots on goal and won 55.2 percent of the faceoffs. The Ducks also outhit Tampa Bay, 24-12, but were let down by their special teams as the Lightning scored the game's only two power-play goals.

"It was a great game," Cronin said. "I thought it was a real solid, up-and-down, fun hockey game."

Meanwhile, there's nothing fun about how the Panthers are feeling after losing 5-2 to the visiting Detroit Red Wings.

The Panthers allowed three power-play goals, bringing their total PPGs allowed over the past seven games to 10.

"We have to stay out of the penalty box," Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said. "Over the past six or seven games, we've taken a lot of penalties."

In addition, Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 15 shots.

Bobrovsky has allowed four goals in each of his past three games, but Panthers coach Paul Maurice defended his starting goalie.

"Sometimes, (goalies) get unlucky in the net," Maurice said. "When you get two deflections like that ... His positioning was solid. It just wasn't his night."

There's a good chance Bobrovsky will start again on Saturday. He is 18-11-2 with a 2.86 goals-against average and an .896 save percentage. His backup, Spencer Knight, is 8-6-1 with a 2.60 GAA and an .897 save percentage.

The Panthers, who have lost three of their past four, have been slumping offensively, scoring just 10 goals in that span.

Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals (27) and points (51). But Sam Bennett, who scored 20 times last season, has gone 19 straight games without a goal.

Matthew Tkachuk, who scored 26 goals in 2024-25, has just one goal in his past 13 games. And Carter Verhaeghe (34 goals last season) has just one goal in his past 14 games.

Meanwhile, the Ducks are being led by 24-year-old goalie Lukas Dostal.

Dostal made his NHL debut in the 2021-2022 campaign. This season, he is 11-12-4, and he has career bests in GAA (2.88) and save percentage (.910).

Veteran John Gibson, 31, is the backup. He is 7-7-2 with a 2.90 GAA and a .906 save percentage.

The Ducks, who have struggled to score consistently, are powered by Troy Terry, who leads the team in goals (15) and assists (19).

--Field Level Media