Jesper Boqvist scored twice to help the Florida Panthers defeat the Utah Hockey Club 4-1 at the Delta Center on Wednesday night. The victory marked a strong rebound for the Panthers (25-15-2), who had dropped four of their previous six games.
Sam Reinhart also contributed with a power-play goal, and Matthew Tkachuk recorded two assists in a game where Florida capitalized on key opportunities. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was solid between the pipes, stopping 26 shots to earn his first career victory against Utah.
The Utah Hockey Club (17-16-7) continued to struggle, suffering their seventh loss in the past eight games (1-5-2) and extending their home losing streak to four games. Logan Cooley scored Utah’s lone goal on the power play, while Karel Vejmelka made 29 saves in net.
The Panthers opened the scoring early in the second period. At 1:05, Reinhart buried a one-timer on the power play after receiving a sharp pass from Tkachuk, putting Florida up 1-0. The goal marked Reinhart’s 67th power-play tally since joining the Panthers in 2021, moving him past Scott Mellanby for the second-most in franchise history.
Boqvist doubled the lead early in the third period at 1:48. His shot from the slot deflected off a Utah defender and trickled past Vejmelka for a 2-0 advantage.
Utah showed signs of life midway through the third when Logan Cooley scored on the power play at 13:41. After a setup by Clayton Keller, Cooley lifted the puck over Bobrovsky’s shoulder to make it a one-goal game.
However, Boqvist struck again at 17:59, sealing the win with an empty-net goal. Eetu Luostarinen added another empty-netter at 19:38 to finalize the score at 4-1.
Sergei Bobrovsky became just the third goaltender in NHL history to record wins against 33 different franchises, joining Jake Allen and Darcy Kuemper. Reinhart’s power-play goal was his 67th with the Panthers, solidifying his place in franchise history.
The Utah Hockey Club will look to break out of their slump when they host the San Jose Sharks on Friday night. Meanwhile, the Panthers return home to face the Boston Bruins in a nationally televised game on ABC this Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Florida’s win is a confidence booster as they aim to solidify their position in the playoff race, while Utah continues to search for answers during a challenging stretch of the season.
