SUNRISE, Fla. – The sun is certainly shining bright in South Florida.
Acquired in a pre-deadline deal with the Ottawa Senators, Vladimir Tarasenko will be in the lineup when the Florida Panthers host the Philadelphia Flyers at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.
“This guy can score goals, but I just want him to come in and play with the rest of them,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “Our leading scorer is going to backcheck just as hard as the guy who’s the lowest scorer. Just come in and play with the rest of them. If you score a bunch, good for you. If you don’t and we’re winning, good for us and everyone is happy. He can shoot the puck. He can pass the puck. What I want to do is get him to a comfort level where he’s not thinking about what I want, he’s doing what he wants.”
During this morning’s line rushes, Tarasenko, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, was with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart on the Florida’s top line.
For the rest of the NHL, the potential of that trio might keep some teams up at night.
"Wherever you [play] on this team, it's exciting right now,” said Tarasenko, who already has a home in Weston and spends his summers training in the area. “I talked to them a little bit this morning. They're both very smart players. I look forward to playing with them tonight."
A six time 30-plus goal scorer, Tarasenko has tallied 615 points (287 goals, 328 assists) across 732 games in his NHL career between the Blues, New York Rangers, and Senators.
Prior to joining the Panthers, Tarasenko, a four-time NHL All-Star, had produced 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) and a +13 plus/minus rating in 57 games with Ottawa this season.
As the Panthers continue to prepare for to embark on what they hope will be another deep playoff run, Tarasenko’s 97 games of postseason experience should also prove invaluable.
"Usually when you go deep, you know what it takes,” Tarasenko said.
The first team in the NHL to reach 90 points, the Panthers improved to 43-16-4 with a 5-3 win over the Devils in their last outing on Tuesday.
Led by a two-goal performance from Nick Cousins and a three-point night from Matthew Tkachuk in New Jersey, the Panthers finished with a three-game sweep of their road trip.
Not a light trip by any means, the NHL’s best road team improved to 23-8-2 away from home this season while beating three playoff-caliber teams in the Detroit Red Wings, Rangers and Devils.
Getting contributions from up and down the lineup, the Panthers had 15 different skaters record at least one point on the road trip, with Barkov (one goal, three assists) and Reinhart (four goals) leading the way with four points each.
In those three games, the Panthers outscored their opponents 13-5 and expanded their league lead in road goal differential to +44 on the season.
After picking up wins in Detroit and New York on the trip, Sergei Bobrovsky, who’s gone 10-1-0 with a .947 save percentage over his last 11 starts, was the first goaltender off the ice this morning and is expected to get the nod against the Flyers.
The ultimate road warriors, the Panthers also sit atop the NHL in road winning percentage (.697), goals against (68), penalty-kill percentage (86.8) and shots per game (33.33), among other stats.
Now the goal is to bring that momentum back home.
Coming off a shootout loss to the Blues on Monday, the Flyers have gone 4-4-2 in their last 10 games and currently hold the third spot in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 32-23-8.
Similar to Florida, they play a tight game in the defensive zone and are not afraid to get physical.
Philadelphia’s penalty-kill percentage (86.5) ranks first in the NHL and their 27.7 shots-against average is behind only the Carolina Hurricanes and Panthers.
Also like the Panthers, the Flyers got busy before Friday’s trade deadline.
On Wednesday, they dealt defenseman Sean Walker and a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forward Ryan Johansen and a 2025 first-round draft pick that is top-10 protected.
Despite the change, the Panthers will still have to be on the lookout for forwards Travis Konecny, who can put up points (54 points) and penalty minutes (57 PIMS), and a familiar face in Owen Tippett (22 goals).
This will be the second of three meetings between the two teams this season, after the Flyers took the first game 2-1 on Feb. 6 in Florida.
“It’s a hard-working team, like we are,” Mikkola said. “It’s going to be a tough game. I think we’ve been struggling a little bit when we’ve come off in the road in that first game, so we just need a good start and play our game.”
PREGAME QUOTES
“He’s a great guy, funny guy. He can shoot the puck. He’s a good, good player.” – Niko Mikkola on Vladimir Tarasenko
"It's been very good so far. Everybody is very friendly and helpful. I think the biggest part is that my family is already here. That makes it way easier." – Vladimir Tarasenko and his first day with the Panthers
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sergei Bobrovsky has not allowed more than two goals in each of his last 11 starts.
- Since Jan. 22, the Panthers lead the NHL in wins (16) and points (32).
- The Panthers have won each of their last six games at home.
- Carter Verhaeghe has dished out an assist in five consecutive games.
- Sam Reinhart leads the NHL in power-play goals (25).
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Vladimir Tarasenko – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
Nick Cousins – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- March 7: D Gustav Forsling signed to an 8-year extension commencing in 2024-25.
- March 7: F Jonah Gadjovich signed to a 2-year extension commencing in 2024-25.
- March 6: F Vladimir Tarasenko acquired from the Ottawa Senators.
- March 2: F Sandis Vilmanis signed to 3-year ELC commencing in 2024-25.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, March 7 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 App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
