Hitting a major milestone the hard way, the physical defenseman took the ice for his 1,000 th NHL game during Wednesday’s 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings at Amerant Bank Arena. Joining a special club, Kulikov is just the 402nd skater to hit that lofty mark in NHL history.

SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is skating in his 1,000th National Hockey League regular season game tonight vs. the Los Angeles Kings. The Panthers will honor Kulikov’s milestone in a pregame ceremony prior to Florida’s 6 p.m. (ET) game against the New York Islanders on Sunday, Feb. 2 at Amerant Bank Arena.

Now that I’m coming up on 1,000, it still doesn’t make sense. It seems like I just started last year and now it’s Year 16.’

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 Florida Panthers will celebrate some milestone nights on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. Not only will Dmitry Kulikov play in his 1,000th NHL game, but Paul Maurice will coach in his 1,900th game.

For going on three seasons now, the Florida Panthers’ Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad have consistently been one of the NHL’s top defense pairings. But getting to that consistently high level was a result of evolution by both players.

On Sunday, Florida sent blueliner Tobias Bjornfot to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers following Aaron Ekblad’s return from injury. That left seven defensemen on the Panthers roster: Ekblad, Gus Forsling, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, Nate Schmidt, Uvis Balinskis and Adam Boqvist.

Doughty plays about 24 minutes in his season debut but the Kings fall, 3-0, and have lost seven of their past nine games, scoring just 15 goals in that stretch.

Revenge is best served cold and on the ice… at least in hockey.  Exactly one week after the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Florida Panthers 2-1 at Crypto.com arena in Southern California, the Panthers returned the favor,

The Los Angeles Kings are in town and have practically owned the Florida Panthers over the last several seasons. Just last Wednesday, the Kings scored twice in the third to squeeze out a 2-1 win in Los Angeles.

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.

The Golden Knights’ past 10 games haven’t been their best. Luck hasn’t been on their side. The bounces haven’t gone their way. Yet they remained confident they could overcome their slide. A 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday night might be a good first step in the right direction.