The Florida Panthers’ win over Vegas was a big one. The goal now is building on it

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice, a coaching veteran in his 26th season leading an NHL team, isn’t quite sure if a big win heading into a break has any extra meaning for players.

“They do for the coaches,” Maurice said. “I think the guys have shorter memories. We hang onto them for a few days.”

Nevertheless, the Panthers went into the holiday break on a high note, beating the reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in convincing fashion. It was a needed reset after having dropped four of their previous five games heading into that matchup. They are 19-12-2, sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division.

The goal now is figuring out how to sustain it as they return to the ice.

And doing so will mean needing another dominant effort against another rival.

The Panthers resume play Wednesday when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Florida knows that each regular-season game counts as just one out of 82, but these games — the one last week against Vegas, the first of three meetings against Tampa Bay — give the Panthers a chance to make a statement about the team’s direction.

And the Panthers on Saturday returned to their brand of hockey. They were suffocating on defense, outshooting Vegas 42-25 and holding the Golden Knights scoreless in the third period.

“We had lost a couple in a row, so to get that game and play that style of hockey, the way we like to play, was huge for our team and for just our whole confidence,” said center Sam Bennett. “That was definitely a big game.”

Added winger Ryan Lomberg: “We were sliding a little bit the last few games, so to leave off on a hard fought win was important for us.”

Power play

While one game does not constitute a turnaround, the Panthers’ power play was noticeably better against the Golden Knights on Saturday and the team got rewarded with a pair of third-period goals on the man advantage.

It marked just the fourth time this season the Panthers scored multiple power-play goals in a game.

Overall, the Panthers put up 20 shot attempts while producing nine shots on goal and five high-danger chances on five power-play opportunities on Saturday.

“We were shooting the puck, getting lots of chances,” said Carter Verhaeghe, who scored the first of the two power-play goals. “We had a couple opportunities to feel it out there, which is nice. It’s definitely huge for the power play. It plays a big part in the game.”

The Panthers still rank just 20th in the NHL on the power play, converting on only 18.9 percent of their opportunities.

Two Panthers prospects playing in World Juniors

A pair of Panthers prospects — defenseman Marek Alscher and forward Sandis Vilmanis —will be representing their home countries in the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. The tournament began Tuesday and runs until Jan. 5 in Gothenberg, Sweden

Alscher, Florida’s third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft who will represent Czachia, is in his third season with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. The 19-year-old has scored two goals and added seven assists over 26 games this season and has 49 career points (17 goals, 32 assists) in 147 games.

Vilmanis, a 19-year-old Latvian, is in his second season with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League. Vilmanis has logged 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) over 30 games. He was Florida’s fifth-round pick in 2022 and previously represented Latvia at the 2022 and 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships.