The Florida Panthers played a full, 60-minute game in beating the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night. Celebrating Dmitry Kulikov’s 1,000th game, the Panthers put together a strong effort led by 29 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky in a 3-0 win which catapulted them into first place in the Atlantic Division standings.

With the Panthers earning nine seconds of a 5-on-3 power play early in the third period, Aleksander Barkov made the most out of that limited time by winning a faceoff draw in the offensive zone, going to the net and scoring to make it 2-0 at 4:43.

“I’m playing with my food here a little bit,” the Florida Panthers’ veteran coach said.

Cody Ceci and Will Smith scored for the Sharks (14-32-6), who have lost six straight and nine of ten. Alexandar Georgiev allowed four goals on 15 shots before being pulled early in the second period for Yaroslav Askarov, who stopped 14 of 17 shots in relief.

The shutout was his second of the season and the 46th of his career, putting him third among active goalies behind Marc-Andre Fleury (75) and Jonathan Quick (62). Bobrovsky has won three straight starts,

The final NHL game on Wednesday's schedule will pit the defending champion Panthers against the Kings out on the West Coast.

Winning the Stanley Cup hasn’t been a burden to the Panthers. They’re sitting near the top of the Eastern Conference near the mid-season and having the regular season they wanted.

SUNRISE, Fla. – Take a bow, Dmitry Kulikov. When the Florida Panthers host the Los Angeles Kings at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday, the veteran defenseman will suit up in the 1,000 th game of his career. A special milestone, he will become the 402nd skater to hit that mark in NHL history.

The Kings are heavy underdogs on the moneyline versus the Panthers on Wednesday night, but they’ve also had success against Florida in previous meetings. Is L.A. worth a flier as a road underdog in tonight’s Kings vs. Panthers matchup?

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad had a goal and an assist in his return from an upper-body injury and the Florida Panthers routed the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Saturday night.

The Panthers, who have won four of their last six, erased an early one-goal deficit with six unanswered goals to coast past the host San Jose Sharks.