Panthers stay red-hot, roll past Predators 6-2 for 6th consecutive victory
Panthers stay red-hot, roll past Predators 6-2 for 6th consecutive victory
Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) is congratulated by center Sam Reinhart (13) after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores a goal against Nashville Predators goaltender Scott Wedgewood, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators goaltender Scott Wedgewood, center, defends a shot by Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe, front, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators center Mark Jankowski (17) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) and defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) defend during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators goaltender Scott Wedgewood stops a shot on the goal by Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier (45) and Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) go for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) reacts after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) defends the goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) skates with the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) is congratulated by center Sam Reinhart (13) after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) is congratulated by center Sam Reinhart (13) after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores a goal against Nashville Predators goaltender Scott Wedgewood, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores a goal against Nashville Predators goaltender Scott Wedgewood, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators goaltender Scott Wedgewood, center, defends a shot by Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe, front, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators goaltender Scott Wedgewood, center, defends a shot by Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe, front, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators center Mark Jankowski (17) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators center Mark Jankowski (17) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) and defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) defend during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) and defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) defend during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators goaltender Scott Wedgewood stops a shot on the goal by Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators goaltender Scott Wedgewood stops a shot on the goal by Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier (45) and Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) go for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Nashville Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier (45) and Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) go for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) reacts after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) reacts after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) defends the goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) defends the goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) skates with the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) skates with the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist, Aleksander Barkov had three assists for the second time in less than a week and the Florida Panthers beat the Nashville Predators 6-2 on Thursday night for their sixth straight victory.
Sam Reinhart got his 11th of the season and pushed his goals streak to five games for the Panthers, who got a goal and an assist from Matthew Tkachuk and two assists from Uvis Balinskis. Tomas Nosek also scored for Florida.
Sergei Bobrovsky got career win No. 403 to tie Grant Fuhr for 12th on the career list.
Steven Stamkos and Juuso Parssinen scored for Nashville. It was the 83rd official time, including playoffs, that Stamkos played against the Panthers — the first with him wearing something other than a Tampa Bay sweater.
The Predators (4-9-1) have nine points, the fewest through 14 games in franchise history. They had 10 points through 14 games three previous times, most recently last season.
Takeaways
Predators: Including playoffs, Stamkos has 52 goals against the Panthers. That’s the most by any Florida opponent; Alex Ovechkin has 45 goals against Florida. In regular-season games only against Florida, Ovechkin leads Stamkos 44-42.
Panthers: This is Florida’s fourth regular-season winning streak of at least six games since the start of last season. Before that, the Panthers had 10 such streaks — in their first 29 seasons combined.
Key moment
Reinhart and Tkachuk scored 1:41 apart in the first period, staking Florida to a 2-0 lead just 5:14 into the contest.
Key stat
Florida (10-3-1) has 10 wins through 14 games for the fourth time in club history. It also happened in 1995-96 (10-4-0), 2020-21 (10-2-2) and 2021-22 (10-2-2).
Up next
Predators: Host Utah on Saturday night, before going back on the road for a five-game trip.
Panthers: Host Philadelphia on Saturday night, the second of five straight in Sunrise.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl