Knight to start again for Florida, assuming number one role from Bobrovsky for now
The Florida Panthers are in Winnipeg to face the Jets on Tuesday night and for the sixth time in seven games, goaltender Spencer Knight will get the start between the pipes.
In those six games, Knight has a record of 3-0-2, along with a save percentage of .930. His strong performances have kept the Panthers in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference.
After the morning skate on Tuesday, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice discussed with reporters how Knight is handling his first stint as the team's number one goaltender.
"Spencer feels good," Maurice said. "It's his first real opportunity to get a little bit of a taste of what the No. 1 role is like in the National Hockey League. We've got two divisional games when we get back, so we wanted to give him a little bit of a rhythm."
It makes sense to allow the 21-year-old to get the starts and have him assume the number one role, for now, especially given how he's played. Sergei Bobrovsky has not had a very good season thus far, sporting a 4-6-1 record with a 3.84 GAA and .878 save percentage.
Ideally, the Panthers would probably like to move on from Bobrovsky and open up some salary to make additions to their roster ahead of the trade deadline on March 3rd. But there aren't many teams that can take on Bobrovsky's $10 million salary for the remainder of this season and the next three years. Florida also probably doesn't want to retain much salary, but they might not have a choice if they decide to move him.
Knight, a native of Darien (Connecticut), had an 8-3-3 record with a 2.49 GAA, .923 save percentage and one shutout through 14 games for the Panthers this season. He's certainly earned the right to be Florida's number one goaltender for the time being.
Source: theScore
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