Boqvist nets 2 in 3rd period as Panthers beat Utah 4-1

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jesper Boqvist scored twice in the third period and the Florida Panthers beat the Utah Hockey Club 4-1 on Wednesday night.

Sam Reinhart and Eetu Luostarinen each had a goal for the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Matthew Tkachuk finished with two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.

Boqvist scored at 1:48 of the third to make it 2-0, then again at 17:59 from his own end into an empty net to make it 3-1. Luostarinen added another empty-netter with 22 seconds remaining.

Reinhart opened the scoring at 1:05 of the second. It was his 67th power-play goal for the Panthers, passing Scott Mellanby for second place in franchise history.

Utah got on the board at 13:41 of the third with Logan Cooley’s power-play goal, assisted by Clayton Keller and Mikhail Sergachev.

Karel Vejmelka stopped 29 shots for Utah.

Two skirmishes broke out in the third period between the teams, and players had to be separated by the officials.

Panthers: Improved to 13-7-1 on the road, bettering their 12-8-1 mark at home.

Utah: Lost for the seventh time in eight games.

Florida all but secured the victory with the empty-net goal by Boqvist late in the third.

It was a physical game, as the teams combined for 14 penalty minutes and 60 hits.

Utah hosts the San Jose Sharks on Friday, and the Panthers host the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) moves the puck against Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Utah Hockey Club center Kevin Stenlund (82) fights for the puck against Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) moves the puck up the ice against the Utah Hockey Club during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Utah Hockey Club right wing Dylan Guenther (11) gets tangled up with Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) defends as center Carter Verhaeghe (23) can bring the puck up the ice against Utah Hockey Club defenseman Ian Cole (28) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Utah Hockey Club center Logan Cooley (92) looks to pass the puck against the Florida Panthers during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Utah Hockey Club center Liam O'Brien (38) slams Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (7) into the boards going after the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) moves the puck against the Utah Hockey Club during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) saves the puck from the shot against the Utah Hockey Club during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis (26) fights for the puck against Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67)during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov looks on from the ice during the warmups of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) fights for the puck against Utah Hockey Club center Nick Schmaltz (8) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) moves the puck against Utah Hockey Club center Nick Bjugstad (17) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic have landed in opposite sides of the draw for the season’s first major, ruling out a replay of last year’s semifinal match.

Sinner upset Djokovic in the semifinals here last year before coming back to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 for his first Grand Slam singles title.

Top-ranked Sinner has a first-round match against Nicolas Jarry and also has Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Medvedev in his quarter of the draw. Fritz will open against fellow American Jenson Brooksby.

Djokovic and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz could meet in the quarterfinals, with a possible semifinal against No. 2 Alexander Zverev.

At the draw Thursday to set the brackets for the singles fields, defending champions Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka walked into the official ceremony on the steps of Margaret Court Arena holding their trophies.

Sabalenka won her second consecutive title at Melbourne Park in 2024 by defeating Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2. Sabalenka will be attempting to win a third consecutive women’s singles title at Melbourne Park, something last accomplished by Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.

Sabalenka drew a tough opening match against 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens and has 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and Zheng in her section.

“I have a lot of great memories and to be back here ... as a two-time Australian Open champion, it’s definitely something special,” Sabalenka, who won the Brisbane International title last week, said at the draw ceremony. “I hope that I can keep doing what I’m doing here in Australia.”

Third-seeded Coco Gauff is a potential semifinal rival for Sabalenka. Gauff has a challenging first-round match against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and is in the same section of the draw as four-time major winner Naomi Osaka and seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula.

No. 2 Iga Swiatek and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina are on the other half of the draw.

The Australian Open starts Sunday morning in Melbourne (Saturday night EST in the U.S.) and will run for 15 days.

Doping and the cases involving Sinner — which is still not fully resolved — and Swiatek was a topic that shadowed tennis in 2024 and is still a talking point in Melbourne.

There's plenty else for fans to talk about.

Djokovic will be playing in his first event alongside new coach Andy Murray, his former on-court rival and a three-time major champion. Nobody has won the men's title at Melbourne Park more often than Djokovic, although he said he still feels trauma from the one year he wasn’t allowed to play.

Nick Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up who withdrew from an exhibition against Djokovic this week because of an abdominal strain, will face Jacob Fearnley in the first round if the mercurial Australian is fit enough to contest his first major since the 2022 U.S. Open. Kyrgios is in the same section as Zverev.

Tournament director Craig Tiley, left, and tournament referee Wayne McKewen conduct the official draw ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Defending champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner attend the official draw ceremony ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka celebrates winning against Russia's Polina Kudermetova during their final match at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic is watches his coach Andy Murray, right, during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Defending champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner attend the official draw ceremony ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)