MIAMI _ The Florida Panthers, 7-1-1 over their past nine games, made their return to the BB&T Center after a three-week stint that included six games on the road split by the All-Star Break.
The hope: Continue picking up points despite not having captain and top-line center Aleksander Barkov in the lineup for a third consecutive game.
The Vegas Golden Knights had other plans.
Mark Stone scored two goals and had five points, including an assist on Max Pacioretty's go-ahead goal, as the Panthers lost 7-2 on Thursday night. It's the second time this year the Panthers have given up seven goals this year, with the other coming on Oct. 28 in a road loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
The Panthers (29-18-6) never led, rebounding from one-goal deficits in both the first and second period before Pacioretty wrist shot in front of net went past Sergei Bobrovsky 17 seconds into the third period started a four-goal flurry for Vegas.
Bobrovsky, who was 4-1-1 record with a .924 save percentage (16 goals allowed on 210 shots) over Florida's last six games, gave up six goals on 29 shots before being pulled for Sam Montembeault with 11:07 left in Thursday's loss. Monteambeault gave up one goal on 10 shots faced.
Mike Hoffman and Vincent Trocheck scored goals for the Panthers, both of which tied the game after Stone gave the Golden Knights (28-21-7) a lead.
Hoffman's first-period power-play goal, scored after taking a cross-ice feed from Trocheck, was his 20th of the season. Trocheck, centering the top line on Thursday in Barkov's absence, tallied his eighth goal of the season with 8:08 left in the second period when he took a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau, raced down the ice, went behind the goal and poked the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury.
Other than that, the Panthers had a rough going in their return home.
The Panthers were on the penalty kill five times, gave up a short-handed goal and were out-shot 39-25.
Late in the first, trailing 1-0, Brett Connolly had a wrist shot saved by Fleury on a three-on-two rush. Hoffman's rebound shot seconds later was blocked as Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb laid out in front of the net.
Connolly also missed a penalty shot after being tripped on a breakaway midway through the second period.
