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.

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.

The Florida Panthers will celebrate some milestone nights on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. Not only will Dmitry Kulikov play in his 1,000th NHL game, but Paul Maurice will coach in his 1,900th game.

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.

(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.

(AP) Sam Reinhart snapped a three-game goal drought and the Florida Panthers beat the ... 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.

Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist to lead the Florida Panthers to a road win against the Anaheim Ducks, beating them for the second time in four days.

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.

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

Call it a mixed bag for the Florida Panthers on their West Coast trip. The Panthers went 2-2-0 in their four games out west, beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 on Tuesday, falling to the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Wednesday, winning against the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Saturday and losing to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 on Sunday.