Now, with the lines taking on more of a traditional look, Maurice decided to keep Samoskevich in the top six, moving him to the left side and slotting Matthew Tkachuk back on Bennett’s right, where he’s spent much of his tree seasons in Florida.

“I’m playing with my food here a little bit,” the Florida Panthers’ veteran coach said.

Count the Florida Panthers’ Mackie Samoskevich and Paul Maurice among those cheering for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Monday’s College Football Playoff national championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

With the Panthers earning nine seconds of a 5-on-3 power play early in the third period, Aleksander Barkov made the most out of that limited time by winning a faceoff draw in the offensive zone, going to the net and scoring to make it 2-0 at 4:43.

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Detroit Red Wings right wing Jonatan Berggren (48) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers right wing Mackie Samoskevich (25) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla.

Verhaeghe stole the puck from Anaheim defenseman Jacob Trouba behind the Ducks' goal before putting it into the upper right corner of the net to extend the Panthers' lead to 3-1 with 1:11 remaining in the first period. Florida has scored three times in the first period four times this season which trails only Tampa Bay and Ottawa (both five).

Sam Reinhart snapped a three-game goal drought and the Florida Panthers beat the Anaheim ... Sam Bennett and Uvis Balinskis added goals. Mackie Samoskevich and Tomas Nosek each had two assists ...

The final NHL game on Wednesday's schedule will pit the defending champion Panthers against the Kings out on the West Coast.

Rookie Mackie Samoskevich has been playing quite well and may have earned himself a longer look in the top six

Bennett’s goal 4:55 into regulation came when he took a feed from Tkachuk across the goal crease and sent a wrist shot high as Kings goaltender Dary Kuemper was sprawled down on the ice.

The Florida Panthers looked like they enjoyed their first game in Sunrise in a couple weeks. Hosting the Los Angeles Kings, Florida jumped out to an early lead and clamped down on the advantage, skating to a 3-0 victory.

Having already played a pair of back-to-backs on their recent road trip, the Panthers will now host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday before kicking off yet another back-to-back against the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.