SUNRISE, Fla. – Anthony Stolarz will man the crease for the 100th time in his NHL career when the Florida Panthers wrap up their homestand with a matchup against the Montreal Canadiens at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.
In the midst of his first season in South Florida, the 30-year-old veteran backup goaltender proven himself to be an exceptional addition, posting a 10-5-2 record with a .925 save percentage and one shutout in 18 appearances.
“His numbers are very good,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said following this morning's skate at the Baptist Health IcePlex. “Without Anthony, it doesn’t take [losing] many points before you’re worried about making the playoffs again. We’re feeling pretty good today because we’ve had a few good months, but he’s been a major part of that. For a guy in his situation, a backup goaltender, I’m hopeful that he recognizes the importance he is.”
On an impressive run of dominance in which they’ve won 12 of their last 14 games, the Panthers improved to 39-16-4 and overtook the Boston Bruins (34-12-14) for first place in the Atlantic Division with a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres in their last outing on Tuesday.
Brandon Montour led the Panthers with three points in the win, including scoring the game-winning goal on a 5-on-3 power play in the third period. Back in the lineup after missing one game with an injury, Matthew Tkachuk notched a goal and an assist. Sam Bennett also scored.
In net, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of 30 shots to pick up his 29th win of the season.
The win over the Sabres marked the 14th straight game in which the Panthers surrendered two or fewer goals. During that incredibly stingy stretch on defense, they’ve outscored the opposition 51-22 while allowing an average of 1.57 goals against per tilt.
“We’ve been working a lot on it,” said Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, who’s scored 23 goals in 33 career games against the Canadiens. “That’s the biggest thing, our defense. We want to be really good defensively and offense will come from that. If we defend well, our chances will come in the offensive zone. Just try to spend as much time as possible there.”
In seventh place in the Atlantic Division at 23-28-8, the Canadiens snapped out of a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes in their last game on Tuesday.
Joel Armia, Jordan Harris, Tanner Pearson and Nick Suzuki all lit the lamp against the Coyotes, while Sam Montembeault, a former draft pick of the Panthers, turned aside 36 of 38 shots between the pipes to keep the Coyotes mostly in check.
Montembeault, who sits at 13-10-4, will get the nod in net again for Montreal tonight.
“We had 77% of the scoring chances, a lot of quality shots but their goaltender stood tall,” Arizona head coach André Tourigny told reporters after the loss.
Carrying the hottest stick for Montreal, Suzuki has found the back of the net 11 times in his last 12 games. Already in his fifth season in the NHL despite only turning 24 back in August, he leads the team in goals (23) and points (56), while also winning 53.9% of his draws.
When asked about Suzuki, Maurice said he sees "a whole lot of Barkov" in his play.
Another key piece of the future for the Canadiens, Cole Caufield, just 23, ranks second on the team in scoring with 46 points (19 goals, 27 assists). Having a nice season on the blue line, former Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson ranks third with 43 points (eight goals, 35 assists).
With the playoffs out of reach, the Canadiens have already started shaking up their roster and began looking ahead to 2024-25. On Feb. 2, they sent center Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 2024 first-round draft pick and a 2027 conditional third-round pick.
That said, a rebuilding team can often be just as dangerous as a contender.
“They’re a good team,” Barkov said. “They have a lot of skilled young guys. You’ve just got to be aware of that. It’s similar to Buffalo. They have a lot of offensive power. You’ve just got to be really good defensively and take all the chances that you can in the offensive zone.”
The third of four meetings set to take place between the two clubs this season, the Panthers have come out on top in each of the two previous games against Montreal.
After a 5-1 win at Montreal on Nov. 30, they earned a 4-1 win in Sunrise on Dec. 30.
Seven different Panthers have produced multiple points across the two games against the Canadiens, with Carter Verhaeghe pacing the club with four points (two goals, two assists).
“We have wild games against this team,” Maurice said. “I don’t think the scores from the first two have anything to do with how the game was played. In my mind, they were both very tight games, which was a difference from last year. They’ve tightened their game up quite a bit. We want to make sure that we’re playing smart and making good decisions.”
After this morning’s skate, Maurice announced that Jonah Gadjovich will miss tonight’s game due to a minor injury. With that, Will Lockwood will take his place on the fourth line.
PREGAME QUOTES
“Just keep going, keep building our game. It’s not going to be any easier. We’ve got to be ready right from the start and play our game. We still have some things to work on, but we’re in a good spot right now. We’re all excited.” -- Aleksander Barkov
“Every game is hard at this point of the season. Winning tight games is important. -- Anton Lundell
FIVE CATS STATS
- Since Dec. 23, the Panthers lead the NHL in wins (21) and points (44).
- The Panthers rank fifth in the NHL on the power play at 26%.
- Matthew Tkachuk has logged multiple points in eight of his last 14 games.
- Gustav Forsling ranks first in the NHL with a +39 plus/minus rating.
- This is the sixth time in franchise history that Florida has played a game on leap day.
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
Anthony Stolarz
Sergei Bobrovsky
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Channel 221 / Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Here
