“Still shocked,” said Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg, who beat Igor Shesterkin on a long shot in the third period for the game-winning goal. “It’s crazy. He doesn’t even understand how sick it was. He’s so nonchalant that that to him is just like another assist because of how he carries himself. Being able to watch that live and seeing the team’s reaction, it was a pretty sweet goal.”
Finding the back of the net five times in his last three games, Reinhart paces the Panthers in goals (44), power-play goals (25) and points (74). Behind him, three other players have already also crossed the 60-point mark: Matthew Tkachuk (68), Carter Verhaeghe (64) and Barkov (62).
Extending his streak of allowing two or fewer goals to 11 games, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 of 28 shots in New York to move into a tie for first place in the NHL with his 31st win of the season.
While no lineup information will be made available until closer to puck drop, it wouldn’t be surprising to see backup Anthony Stolarz step in for Bobrovsky against the Devils. A native of Edison, New Jersey, the 6-foot-6 veteran has gone 11-5-2 with a .924 save percentage this season.
The top goaltender away from home this season in the NHL, Stolarz boasts a 7-2-1 record with a .940 road save percentage and 1.64 road goals-against average on the road. Among goaltenders with at least 10 road appearances, both his save percentage and goals-against average rank first.
Overall, Florida is 4-0-1 on the second half of back-to-backs this season.
“We’re pretty good at playing it game by game,” Lomberg said of moving on after the win over the Rangers. “I anticipate us leaving this one behind us and starting the day fresh tomorrow.”
Other than Barkov’s highlight, the biggest news in the NHL on Monday came out of New Jersey.
Sitting outside the playoff picture at 30-27-4 and having lost five of their last seven games, the Devils decided to fire head coach Lindy Ruff. Travis Green, an assistant for Ruff and the former head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, was named the club's interim coach as part of the move.
Boasting the ninth-ranked offense in the NHL at 3.31 goals per game, the bulk of New Jersey’s problems this season have been between the pipes. Allowing an average of 3.49 goals per tilt, none of their three goaltenders this season currently own a save percentage better than .900.
Per MoneyPuck.com, the goalie trio of Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid and Nico Daws has combined for -19.1 goals saved above expected. With Vanecek on injured reserved since Feb. 10 due to a lower-body injury, Daws, who’s still just 23 years old, has started 10 of the last 11 games.
Still a very dangerous team – and likely motivated by the recent coaching change – the Devils can still certainly put the puck in the back of the net. Jesper Bratt leads the team in scoring with 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists), while Jack Hughes is second with 57 points (20 goals, 37 assists).
Since Feb. 1, the Devils have scored at least three goals in eight of 14 games.
Meeting for the third and final time in 2023-24, the Panthers have split their season series with the Devils thus far. After securing a 4-3 win on Oct. 16 at New Jersey, they suffered a 4-1 defeat in their next matchup on Jan. 13 in Sunrise thanks to a stellar 35-save performance from Daws.
Trying to end their trip on a high note, the Panthers expect to face a reinvigorated Devils team tonight.
“We’re going to have to be smart,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “A coaching change happened, which means they have all the advantage of the energy. Every guy on that team wants to come back. They’ve got a clean slate. They don’t carry the weight any more of what’s happened to their season. There’s no shortage of skill, so we’re going to have to figure out a way to come out as fast as we possibly can.”
PREGAME QUOTES
“We got faster as the game went on, which we really liked. Some similarities to our last game. The power-play goal that got us to even was really important because we seemed to have better legs after that. We built as the game went on.” – Paul Maurice on the win over the Rangers
“It’s huge. For us, it’s about building our game and trying to play the right way and trying to find something in every game to get better at.” – Aleksander Barkov on the win over the Rangers
FIVE CATS STATS
- Since Dec. 23, Florida ranks first in the NHL in wins (24) and points (50).
- The Panthers rank fifth in the NHL in goals per game on the road (3.34).
- Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers with seven game-winning goals on the road.
- Brandon Montour has logged eight points (2G, 6A) over his last five games.
- Aleksander Barkov is winning 57.6% of his faceoffs this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Nick Cousins – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Anthony Stolarz
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- March 2: F Sandis Vilmanis signed to 3-year ELC commencing in 2024-25.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Prudential Center – Newark, NJ
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
