LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Vegas Golden Knights fell to the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Thursday night at the Fortress in a rematch of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. Vegas went 0-6 on power play opportunities while Florida finished 3-6. VGK has now dropped six of their last seven games as the loss drops the Knights to 22-12-5.
Pavel Dorofeyev got the scoring started for the Golden Knights in the game and for the year, netting VGK's first goal of 2024 in the 1st period. The Knights' lead wouldn't last until intermission, Florida's Sam Bennett scoring on a power play to tie the game at 1.
The Panthers claimed the lead in the 2nd period after Zach Whitecloud was called for two penalties at once. A 6-on-4 goal by Matthew Tkachuk let Florida hop on top 2-1. Towards the end of the period, Florida extended their lead to 3-1 with a Carter Verhaeghe goal.
The Knights couldn't rally back late, Matt Reinhart scoring Florida's third power play goal of the game early in the final period to take a commanding 4-1 lead. That score stuck until the final buzzer.
The Golden Knights will look for their first win of the new year on Saturday night when they host the New York Islanders. Puck drops at 7.