Sharks starting goalie Alexandar Georgiev, in a shaky performance, was pulled at the 3:01 mark of the second period after allowing four goals on 15 shots. Yaroslav Askarov came on in relief and but did not fare much better, as he allowed three goals on 16 shots.

Matthew Tkachuk scored once in a three-point outing while Aaron Ekblad collected one goal and one assist in his return to the lineup to pace the visiting Florida Panthers to a 7-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

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.

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.

Tkachuk scored a power-play goal on two shots and added two assists in Saturday's 7-2 win over the Sharks. Tkachuk set up Aaron Ekblad's game-winner late in the first period before adding a pair of points as the Panthers solidified their lead in the second.

BOTTOM LINE: The San Jose Sharks aim to end their five-game skid when they play the Florida Panthers. San Jose is 8-15-1 in home games and 14-31-6 overall. The Sharks have a 5-12-2 record when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent.

After a strong first period in which they scored two goals in less than a minute, the San Jose Sharks went south quick and hard Saturday night in a 7-2 loss to the visiting Florida Panthers.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions! Today, like every day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the games happening and gives our predictions for each. We’ll also break down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play a part.

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.

Closing out the scoring explosion in the second period, Sam Reinhart took a tap pass from Tkachuk, who went flying through the slot to make it happen, and fired a shot into the back of the cage to put the Panthers up 7-2 at 16:25. In the third period, the Panthers shut the door.

After backing up Sergei Bobrovsky in San Jose, Spencer Knight will likely get the nod in net against Vegas. Owning a 9-7-1 record with a .907 save percentage, the 23-year-old has been in the zone as of late, going 4-2-0 with a .935 save percentage since Dec. 22.

Call it a mixed bag for the Florida Panthers on their West Coast trip. The Panthers went 2-2-0 in their four games out west, beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 on Tuesday, falling to the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Wednesday, winning against the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Saturday and losing to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 on Sunday.