The Florida Panthers hit the ice on Saturday evening in Sunrise searching for a fifth consecutive victory while playing a third game in four nights. Florida battled back from an early deficit but ultimately ran out of gas against the spunky St. Louis Blues, falling 6-2 at Amerant Bank Arena. St. Louis picked up the game’s first goal on a nifty deflection. Directly off a faceoff in Florida’s zone, a point shot by Cam Fowler was tipped by Jake Neighbours to give the Blues a 1-0 lead 9:58 into the game. The visitors doubled their lead early in the second period while on a power play on a shot that was nearly kept out of the net. Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov made an amazing glove save while sliding to his left, but the shot by Jonatan Berggren was just hard enough to cause Tarasov’s glove to cross over the goal line, just past the post, as he stretched back to catch it. Just like that it was 2-0 Blues with over 18 minutes left in the middle frame. Florida finally got themselves on the scoreboard about five minutes later. Seth Jones cut to the net and put a shot on Joel Hofer that was stopped, but the rebound went to Jesper Boqvist at the opposite side of the net and his shot went off A.J. Greer in front and past Hofer’s blocker. The Panthers would tie the game a few minutes after that thanks to a familiar looking goal. With Florida on the power play, Brad Marchand corralled the puck below the goal line and sent a perfect pass to Sam Reinhart in the slot, and Reinhart’s quick shot eluded Hofer to tie the score at two with 7:15 to go in the second period. It looked like the game would go into the intermission with the game all tied up, but a shocking goal by Justin Faulk with 0.8 on the clock gave the Blues a 3-2 edge and some good vibes to take into the final frame. St. Louis would regain their two-goal advantage when Luke Schenn stole the puck from Seth Jones behind Florida’s net and fed Neighbours in the slot. The 23-year-old’s second of the game made it 4-2 Blues with 7:58 to go. Less than a minute later, Robert Thomas one-timed a shot past Tarasov from the slot, putting Florida behind 5-2 with just over seven minutes on the clock. Thomas added a shorthanded empty-net goal with 3:32 to go, cementing the Blues’ victory over the Cats. On to Carolina. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Winners of 4 straight, Panthers to complete back-to-back set against visiting Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/winners-of-4-straight-panthers-to-complete-back-to-back-set-against-visiting-blues] Three takeaways: Panthers never stopped believing, plays by Lundell and Marchand fuel epic comeback [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-never-stopped-believing-plays-by-lundell-and-marchand-fuel-epic-comeback] Comeback Cats erase 3-goal third period deficit, defeat Hurricanes in shootout [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/comeback-cats-erase-3-goal-third-period-deficit-defeat-hurricanes-in-shootout] The Hockey Show: Panthers rolling, top local broadcasters and Brad Williams talks high-flying Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/the-hockey-show-panthers-rolling-top-local-broadcasters-and-brad-williams-talks-high-flying-ducks] 'He's As Good A Player As We Have' Eetu Luostarinen Praised By The Panthers Organization As He Skates In Game 400 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/he-s-as-good-a-player-as-we-have-eetu-luostarinen-praised-by-the-panthers-organization-as-he-skates-in-game-400] Photo caption: Dec 20, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk (72) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Florida Panthers during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
