On Willie Mitchell’s return to Los Angeles, the Panthers played strong for forty minutes and got outplayed for twenty minutes as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Florida Panthers at Staples Center by the final score of 5-2. The Panthers three-game point streak was snapped tonight, as the injury-riddled Panthers played two strong periods while playing half-asleep through the second period. The main star of the game for the Panthers: the penalty box. The Panthers took six penalties during tonight’s matchup, one of which was a double-minor high sticking call, which took the team out of the game and allowed Los Angeles to score three power-play goals. Unfortunately, those three goals ended up being the difference at the end of the game.

First Period

While both teams played even throughout the first period, the Kings owned a 5-2 shots advantage through the first eight minutes. Roberto Luongo was tested throughout the period and made the saves when he was called upon. After the Kings fired their fifth shot on net, they went without a shot on net for nearly seven minutes, as the Panthers took control of the rest of the period. At the 11:50 mark, Trevor Lewis was caught hooking Rocco Grimaldi as he broke into the zone with speed, giving the Panthers the first power-play of the game.

The Panthers had a very solid power-play, testing Jonathan Quick with three shots in a span of seven seconds. The Kings’ net-minder, noticing that his helmet was loose, decided to sneakily shake it off of his head, which forced the referees to blow the play dead amongst a flurry of Panthers scoring chances. Florida would have had a five-on-three power-play at the 17:46 mark while the Panthers were on another power-play, but Jussi Jokinen took down Jeff Carter as he was chasing a loose puck just seconds afterwards. The referees sent both players off the ice for their respective penalties, negating a power play for either side.

Second Period

Both the Panthers and the Kings exchanged scoring chances to open the second period, with the Kings controlling most of the play in the Panthers’ zone. Los Angeles got on the board early in the second period, as Brayden McNabb took a shot from the point. Matt Greene was left all alone to the left of Luongo’s net and deflected the shot into the net to open up the scoring in the game. Trying to make a move around Tyler Toffoli, Vincent Trocheck lifts his stick up in the process, catching Toffoli up in the face and drawing a four-minute penalty.

The Kings would then score another goal on the ensuing man-advantage, as some nice passing between would land on Jeff Carter’s stick and he would just release a bullet that hit Erik Gudbranson on the way to the net, and would go behind Luongo unnoticed to give the Kings a two-goal lead on the Panthers. The Kings scored another power-play goal in towards the end of the second period, when Marian Gaborik knocked in a loose puck in the midst of a scrum in front of the Panthers’ net, giving the Kings a three goal lead.

With only eight seconds left in the period, Jeff Carter skated along the boards and threw the puck towards the net. The puck traveled through many bodies and landed on Robyn Regehr’s stick, as he just threw a slap-shot on net that went by Luongo to give the Kings a four-goal lead at the end of the second period.

Third Period

Florida pulled Roberto Luongo to begin the third period in favor of Al Montoya, as Luongo gave up four goals on twenty-five shots. The Kings came out sluggish out of the third period, as Gaborik slashed Nick Bjugstad to give the Panthers a power-play. The Panthers would break Quick’s shutout bid at 02:01, when Bjugstad passed the puck to Jonathan Huberdeau from the point, who passed it through the goal crease to Jimmy Hayes. Hayes would then just tap the puck into the net for his fourth of the season.

The Panthers would then add another goal at 06:55, as Vincent Trocheck placed a hard shot towards Jonathan Quick’s pads, which created a juicy rebound for Jussi Jokinen. Jokinen then just banged the puck past Quick for his second of the season. The Panthers would continue to outplay the Kings throughout the first fifteen minutes of the period, outshooting Los Angeles 12-1 at one point.

Vincent Trocheck would almost score to make it a one-goal game when found the puck in front of the net on the power-play and shot it towards the net, where Quick robbed him with a wave of his glove. At the 16:49 mark, on a power-play thanks to a Panthers bench minor, Dustin Brown would throw a wacky shot on net that would sneak by Montoya to give the Kings a 5-2 lead and, therefore, the 5-2 win.

Scoring Tracker

1st Period

None

2nd Period

04:32: LAK - Matt Greene (1) - Assists Awarded to Brayden McNabb (3) and Anze Kopitar (4).

09:46: LAK - Jeff Carter (7) on the Power Play - Assists Awarded to Dwight King (4) and Jamie McBain (1).

14:18: LAK - Marian Gaborik (3) on the Power Play - Assists Awarded to Jake Muzzin (7) and Drew Doughty (9).

19:52: LAK - Robyn Regehr (1) - Assists Awarded to Jeff Carter (10) and Drew Doughty (9).

3rd Period

02:01: FLA - Jimmy Hayes (4) on the Power Play - Assists Awarded to Jonathan Huberdeau (3) and Nick Bjugstad (4).

06:55: FLA - Jussi Jokinen (2) - Assists Awarded to Vincent Trocheck (5) and Jimmy Hayes (4).

16:49: LAK - Dustin Brown on the Power Play - Assists Awarded to Justin Williams (4) and Brayden McNabb (4).

Cat Bites

  • Aaron Ekblad played a team-high 9:30 during the first period, as he once again played tough-minutes for the Cats while making his case for the Calder Trophy.
  •  
  • Tuesday’s game marked Willie Mitchell’s return to Los Angeles since he left the team in 2014. The Panthers’ captain played 209 games for the Kings, including 34 playoff games as he helped the Kings win two Stanley Cups (2012, 2014). Panthers assistant coach Mark Morris also returned to Los Angeles for the first time.
  •  
  • With Aleksander Barkov catching the flu on Tuesday morning, the Panthers were forced to call up Rocco Grimaldi from the AHL. Rocco, after getting removed mid-game Tuesday morning to catch a flight to Los Angeles, would take Barkov’s place on the top line between Tomas Kopecky and Scottie Upshall and played a solid game using his speed to create numerous scoring chances and to break up some of the Kings’ odd-man rushes.
  •  
  • Aside from his careless four-minute high sticking infraction, Vincent Trocheck continued his recent strong play for the Panthers, recording a team-high seven shots on net and recording an assist. Trocheck continues to make head coach Gerard Gallant rethink sending him back to the AHL once the team is fully-healthy.
  • Although the Panthers had great scoring chances and work ethic throughout the first period, the next twenty minutes belonged to the Kings as they scored four goals and showed why they won the Stanley Cup twice in the past three seasons.
  •  
  • Tonight's game was a rare off-night for Roberto Luongo, as he let in four goals on twenty-five shots and was pulled in the third period in favor of Al Montoya. While most of the goals cannot be blamed on him, this is only the third game this season that Luongo has allowed four or more goals.
  •  
  • Jimmy Hayes had himself a very solid game, as he had a two-point night (1 goal, 1 assist) and created some offense for the Panthers. He now has five points (3 goals, 2 assists) in his past five games.
  •  
  • A recurring issue for the Panthers popped its head for the first time since the first five games of the season: penalties. The Cats sent a man to the box six times tonight, with Trocheck going off for four minutes. This was the downfall of the Panthers night, as the Kings scored three power-play goals that served as the difference in the game’s score.
  •  
  • The Panthers are winless in Los Angeles since 2002; during that year, George W. Bush was still in office, New England edged St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI, and Queens of the Stone Age released their critically-acclaimed album "Songs for the Deaf".
  •  

Three Stars of the Night

1. LAK - C Jeff Carter
2. LAK - C Anze Kopitar
3. LAK - D Brayden McNabb

The Road Ahead

Florida will continue their four game road-trip on Thursday night, when the Panthers will take on the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at 10:30pm ET, before taking on the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night at 8:30pm ET to finish off the road trip.

Follow @RedSteeg32 and @VAVELPanthers on Twitter for the latest Florida Panthers news and analysis.