Making their first ever trip to Salt Lake City, the Florida Panthers took on the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center on Wednesday night. It was the first instance of the Panthers taking on the franchise that was previously known as the Arizona Coyotes since their relocation to Utah.
They entered the contest having gone 2-4 in their last six games, while Utah had gone 1-3-1 in their last five.
Ultimately, the Panthers earned a 4-1 victory, improving their record to 25-15-2, while Utah fell to 17-16-7.
Neither team found the back of the net in the opening 20 minutes, but Florida didn't have to wait long to score the game's first goal once the second period began.
Sam Reinhart, whom the Panthers re-signed to a mammoth contract extension during the offseason, converted on the power-play for his 23rd goal of the season.
In the third period, the Panthers increased the lead to 2-0 thanks to Jesper Boqvist, who scored the first of what would be two goals on the evening. Utah managed to cut the lead in half on the power-play thanks to Logan Cooley, but Boqvist quickly restored the two-goal lead, scoring into the open net with goaltender on the bench for an extra attacker.
Eetu Luostarinen would add another empty net goal for the Panthers.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves for the Panthers, while Karel Vejmelka made 29 saves in a losing effort for Utah.
3 least impressive Utah Hockey Club players from 4-1 loss to Florida Panthers
#1. Dylan Guenther
Emerging as one of the more valuable players for the Utah Hockey Club, Guenther wasn't able to produce offense as he's done throughout the season.
He finished the game with no points and a pedestrian -3 rating, an area that he'll want to clean up in Utah's next game. Considering that he's a +4 for the season, his -3 rating was especially unusual for him.
#2. Nick Schmaltz
With 29 points in 40 games for Utah, Schmaltz is another player that's relied upon to produce.
Like Guenther, Schmaltz finished with no points; he also had a -2 rating for the game.
#3. Jamie McBain
Another Utah forward who struggled defensively against the Panthers, McBain finished with a -2 rating with no points scored.
One of Utah's better defensive forwards with a +6 rating overall for the season, his -2 performance against the Panthers isn't typical.