Panthers rookie goaltender Spencer Knight enters COVID protocol

Florida Panthers goalie Spencer Knight entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol on Wednesday, as per a team announcement. The team confirmed he’ll be unavailable for Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars.

It’s been an unexpectedly rough year for the rookie netminder after he took the World Juniors (and the NHL, briefly) by storm with a string of impressive performances. Florida’s 13th overall selection in 2019 has just a .896 save percentage through 14 games, though, and he’s spent some time on the taxi squad and with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers to continue to develop his game.

Luckily, the Panthers have a better insurance policy in the net than they did at the start of the season. After losing Sam Montembeault on waivers to Montreal prior to the start of the year, the team only had three goalies under contract. That changed when they claimed Jonas Johansson off waivers from Colorado last month, allowing them to give Knight some time off.

Johansson will need to come into action now with Knight on protocol, though. He hasn’t fared any better in 2021-22, posting a .885 save percentage through nine games. The team’s won four straight games after the holiday break, though, giving themselves a comfortable 12-point cushion in terms of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

If all goes well for Knight and he can exit protocol in five days, he could look to return on January 11 against Vancouver. He would miss tomorrow’s game against Dallas and Saturday’s game against Carolina.