SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will kick off a stretch of three games in four nights when they visit the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.
The Panthers have earned wins in each of their last five trips to the Motor City.
"The heaviest push of our schedule starts now," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said.
Looking to build off a very successful stretch in February, the Panthers posted a 9-2-0 record over 11 games last month while outscoring their opponents 39-18.
They also surrendered just 12 even-strength goals, the fewest in the NHL.
Riding that red-hot run up the standings, the Panthers enter this afternoon’s matchup sitting in first place in not only the Atlantic Division, but the entire league at 40-16-4.
Closing out their three-game homestand, the Panthers capped off last month with a 4-3 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Sam Reinhart scored two goals – one on the power play and one shorthanded – while Anton Lundell netted the winner in the shootout.
Pushing his career-high goal total to 41, Reinhart, a force on special teams this season, leads the NHL in power-play goals (23) and is also tied for first in shorthanded goals (5).
After backing up Anthony Stolarz against the Canadiens, Sergei Bobrovsky will return to the crease in Detroit. Third in the NHL with 29 wins, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has won eight of his last night starts while turning aside 258 of 273 shots for a .945 save percentage.
In two starts against the Red Wings in 2023-24, he boasts a 1.49 goals-against average.
Sitting at 33-21-6 and occupying the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Red Wings have won seven of their last 10 games. The last time they took the ice, they saw their six-game winning streak snapped with a 5-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Dylan Larkin leads Detroit in goals (26) and points (54). Nipping at his heels on the team’s leaderboards, Alex DeBrincat ranks second in both goals (23) and points (53). Also crossing the 50-point mark, Lucas Raymond sits in third place with 51 points (17 goals, 34 assists).
Since Jan. 1, Raymond is tied with Larkin for the most points on the team with 23.
After missing the start of the season with an injury, Patrick Kane has notched 13 goals and 18 assists in 29 games with Detroit.
"They've got young players that will continue to grow, and then you bring in a guy that's a point-per-game guy," Maurice said of Kane, who remains a big threat on offense at 35 years old. "Now you've got some structure. I really, really like their goaltender. They've got a good hockey team."
A late-season hero for the Panthers during their run to last year’s Stanley Cup Final, Alex Lyon has become the primary option between the pipes for the Red Wings this season.
Expected to get the start against his old friends this afternoon, Lyon owns a 18-9-2 record on top of a .912 save percentage in 29 appearances. Over his last five starts, the “Lyon King” has gone 4-1-0 while stopping 130 of 142 shots for a .915 save percentage.
In two head-to-head matchups this season, the Panthers have earned three out of a possible four points against Detroit. After Bobrovsky backstopped them to a 2-0 win in Detroit on Nov. 2, the Panthers suffered a 3-2 loss in overtime on Jan. 17 in Sunrise.
Since Dec. 22, 2018, the Panthers have posted a 20-2-1 record against the Red Wings.
"There's an awful lot on the line," Maurice said. "What's exciting about this game for us is that they're one of the best offensvie teams in the National Hockey League, but they also have to be respectful of the game. There's not going to be a lot of extremely high risk. Their risk will be based on skill and intelligence."
PREGAME QUOTES
"He had a really significant year last year. Some of it was just the mental part, I think it's belief. They always say they have it in them. It's what drives these players. At the same time, they need a little bit of success to cement it, and he did." -- Paul Maurice on Alex Lyon
“You feel it. Especially when you’re at 19, 29, 39, you feel it, for sure. We’ve been doing a lot of good things. A lot of them have come on the power play. We’ve been kind of moving around and finding the open guy. We’ve been sharing the wealth recently.” -- Sam Reinhart on reaching the 40-goal mark
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers rank second in the NHL with 1,594 hits.
- Sam Reinhart ranks second in the NHL with 21 road goals.
- Florida’s power play operated at a 35.1% clip last month.
- Matthew Tkachuk has logged eight multi-point performances over his last 14 games.
- Aleksander Barkov has tallied four points (2G, 2A) over his last three games.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Nick Cousins – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
Will Lockwood – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, March 2 at 3 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
TV & Streaming: ABC, ESPN+
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
