OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe scored twice and Spencer Knight stopped 27 shots for his second career shutout as the Florida Panthers beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0 on Thursday night.
With the victory and Nashville’s 5-4 shootout win over Western Conference-leading Colorado (56-18-7), the Panthers (58-17-6) clinched their first Presidents’ Trophy for the best record in the regular season and home ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I think it was big,” Panthers head coach Andrew Brunette said of Knight’s performance. “It was big for the group and I think it was big for him. He was solid the whole game. I’m proud of our group that we kind of buckled down and kind of had a bit of a checking mentality where we didn’t give up a whole lot in the third period, to make sure we got him the shutout.”
Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett also scored for Florida, which halted Ottawa’s four-game winning streak.
Filip Gustavsson made 26 saves for Ottawa.
With the…
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