Full of confidence after snapping out of a slump and taking down the top team in the NHL, the Panthers enter the matchup on the heels of a thrilling 5-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday.
Improving to 10-8-2 with the win over Boston, the Panthers received goals from Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad. Putting on a clinic in net, Spencer Knight made 37 saves, including stopping all 32 shots he faced at even strength.
In addition to their goals, Tkachuk and Barkov each dished out two assists.
"Eventually here we're going to be looking to get on a run, so that's a good win to start with," Lomberg said of handing the Bruins just their third loss of the season. "We're looking forward to the next one. You can't look too far ahead, but we're definitely feeling good after that one."
Netting a season-high three goals on the power play against Boston, the Panthers have really been heating up with the extra attacker. Dating back to Nov. 6, they've gone 11-for-30 on the power play -- with five of those goals coming from Reinhart -- for a stellar 36.7% success rate.
"It hasn't been so structured," said Reinhart, who led the Panthers with 16 goals on the power play in 2021-22. "I think you look at a lot of our goals [on the power play], and it's just attacking and reading off each other. Not so structured, not so worried about our spots. It's been working."
Leading the Panthers in scoring with 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists), Tkachuk is riding a five-game point streak in which he's notched four goals and six assists. In second, Brandon Montour has recorded 19 points, while Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe have each racked up 18 points.
Over the last eight games, Tkachuk and Reinhart have combined for 10 goals.
"Two guys with incredible hands that can create chaos," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of the duo. "Probably when you're sifting one through the point you're not beating the goalie clean on that, so it's got to come off a stick or a rebound, and those two guys have been great at that."
Sitting at 10-10-0, the Blues have had a rollercoaster of a season thus far. After winning their first three games out of the gate, they endured an eight-game losing streak. From there, they went on to string together seven straight wins before suffering a 6-2 loss at Buffalo on Wednesday and a 5-2 loss at Tampa Bay on Friday.
Against the Sabres, Pavel Buchnevich and Brayen Schenn scored, while Jordan Binnington surrendered six goals -- including three in the second period -- on 32 shots. Prior to that lopsided loss, St. Louis had given up two or fewer goals in five of their previous seven games.
"I think you just realize what you've just been through and what we did to get out of it. And now you got to stop it right now," Schenn told reporters after the loss in Buffalo. "We're going to go play two good teams in Florida that are very capable to win hockey games. And the mindset going in there is no easy games and you can't take your foot off the gas or have letdowns."
Robert Thomas leads the Blues in scoring with 19 points (four goals, 15 assists). After him, Schenn is second with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists), Jordan Kyrou is third with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) and Buchnevich is fourth with 15 points (six goals, nine assists).
Spreading out the offense, no player on St. Louis has tallied more than seven goals, but nine players have scored at least four.
A familiar face across the ice, Noel Acciari, who joined the Blues as a free agent after spending three seasons in South Florida, will play his first game against the Panthers since leaving this past summer. Making history during his time with the Cats, Acciari scored back-to-back hat tricks on Dec. 16 and 20, 2019.
"Excited to see him before and after the game," Lomberg said of Acciari. "He's a heck of a competitor. It'll be good to go up and battle against him. Excited to catch up with him."
With Binnington manning the crease against the Lightning less than 24 hours ago, it's possible that Thomas Greiss will get the nod against the Panthers. In five appearances this season, the veteran goaltender has gone 1-3-0 with a .906 save percentage.
Last season, the Panthers owned a 1-0-1 record against the Blues.
"We've been home for a while," Reinhart said. "To be able to finish strong and get some wins heading into the road trip would be nice."
