Could 20-year-old goalie Spencer Knight get a chance in Game 5 for Panthers?

The Florida Panthers haven’t had a goaltender string together two consecutive decent outings against the Tampa Bay Lightning in their first-round playoff series.

Considering they need three consecutive wins, down 3-1 against the defending Stanley Cup champions following Saturday’s 6-2 defeat, the math doesn’t bode well there.

As the goalie carousel between Sergei Bobrovsky and Chris Driedger has produced uneven results, could the solution be in a third option? Why not give 20-year-old prospect Spencer Knight a shot?

Panthers coach Joel Quenneville is yet to reveal his plan as of Sunday. He said the team will announce that decision before the 8 p.m. Monday start for Game 5 back at the BB&T Center, but Knight was in the starter net at Sunday’s practice, according to Florida Hockey Now, while Bobrovsky and Driedger shared the other one.

“With Spencer, I think it gives you an option of something to consider,” Quenneville said. “I think his track record there earned him that consideration.”

Knight was 4-0 in his four regular-season appearances. He had a .919 saver percentage and 2.32 goals against average. Winning starts against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars down the final stretch of the regular season, he also won his April 27 appearance in relief of Bobrovsky at the Nashville Predators, shutting the door in the third period for a comeback Panthers victory.

Knight, who debuted a day after his 20th birthday on April 20, was playing at Boston College earlier this year before his March 31 signing with the Panthers, who took him with the 13th pick in the 2019 NHL draft. In January, he shut out Canada to lead the United States to a gold medal at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Quenneville stopped short of speaking too much on Knight, the No. 27 prospect in hockey, according to ESPN.

“I don’t want to talk too much about an option,” he said. “He’s one of two other options that we like, as well. … I know that he’s been on big stages before.”

Bobrovsky got the Game 1 start against the Lightning. He gave up five goals on 40 Lightning shots, but considering that three of them came on the power play, Quenneville still called him “fine” even as he opted for the switch to Chris Driedger for Game 2. He described it as giving Driedger an opportunity, rather than making the move based on Bobrovsky’s performance.

Driedger was solid in Game 2, stopping 26 of 28 Tampa shots, but didn’t get the goal support from his skaters in a 3-1 defeat (one Lightning goal was on an empty net).

It was back to Driedger in Game 3, where it looked to be going well until he allowed five goals in the second period. Quenneville went back to Bobrovsky to start the third period, and he clamped down on the Lightning, saving all nine shots he faced in relief. It allowed the Panthers to come back from a 5-3 deficit for a 6-5 overtime win.

That performance granted Bobrovsky the Game 4 start, but he allowed five goals on 14 shots on goal and was pulled in the second period. Driedger then saved 11 of 12 shots.

Bobrovsky has the two Vezina trophies and the big contract after signing a seven-year, $70 million deal in 2019. Driedger, who made 23 starts to Bobrovsky’s 30 in the regular season ranked fourth in save percentage (.927) and fifth in goals against average (2.07) this year.

Series chippiness peaking

Lightning coach Jon Cooper took exception with the Panthers’ chippy play late in Game 4 with the score out of reach, as well as the way it was officiated.

“There’s nothing wrong with message sending and tone setting,” Cooper told reporters postgame, per The Athletic. “It’s part of the game. It’s why we love it. It’s why people come and stand in line for tickets. It’s awesome. But let’s do it in the parameters of the game, and there’s guys with stripes that control that. But if it’s not controlled, stuff like this happens and you’ve got superstars lying on the ice hurt.”

Quenneville responded after Sunday’s practice.

“I saw some of Coop’s comments there, and I couldn’t be more disagreeing with what he saw and what I saw,” he said. “I thought the disagreement with me was that there were some suspendable offenses that weren’t called. Other than that, it’s been a very competitive four games, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Florida’s Anthony Duclair slashed at Lightning star Nikita Kucherov’s knee, causing the former Hart Trophy winner with nine points in four postseason games to exit. Late in the second period, Kucherov collided with Driedger on a breakaway, possibly aided by a shove from Florida defenseman MacKenzie Weegar. Both Kucherov, who was called for goalie interference, and Driedger were down on the ice following the collision.

There was also Panthers forward Patric Hornqvist’s blindside hit on Tampa defenseman Mikhail Sergachev in the third. A few skirmishes broke out late, which was nothing new for the two teams after their penultimate regular-season meeting, once the playoff pairing was already known, resulted in about a half-dozen fights and 154 penalty minutes combined.

“We got to play between the whistles,” said Panthers forward Noel Acciari on Sunday. “All that extra stuff, we know the refs are looking for something, and the way their power play has been playing, we don’t want to give them any extra chances. So, we got to be a little more disciplined in that area.”

Earlier in the series, Florida forward Sam Bennett was suspended for a game after boarding the Lightning’s Blake Coleman in Game 1.

The status of Kucherov and Sergachev is uncertain for Monday’s game.