McCoshen in, Vatrano moved up as Panthers end trip in Montreal

MONTREAL -The Florida Panthers are hoping to salvage a long road trip and begin getting their season back on the right track when they battle the Montreal Canadians in an important matchup between Atlantic Division opponents on Tuesday night at Bell Centre.

"We've got to get going," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "We thought this road trip was going to be an important road trip. We knew we had some tough games. It's desperation time. It's urgency time. We have to start putting points in the bank. Guys know that."
The Panthers (17-19-8) fell to 0-3-1 on their current five-game road trip following a 5-1 defeat in Vancouver on Sunday that extended their losing streak to six games. And with 38 games left to play, they find themselves 12 points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
When asked about the road ahead, defenseman Mike Matheson said that a simple game-by-game approach is the only way to begin climbing back up the standings, adding that the team met earlier in the day to "really break it down" and discuss all the areas they needed to improve upon.
"You can't look too far ahead," Matheson said. "You can't look at the fact that we need to win whatever amount of games in the next whatever amount of games. You just need to focus on each game at a time. It sounds very cliché, but it's really the only way to do it."
In an effort to find more offensive production at 5-on-5 - Florida ranks 27th in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals -- Boughner re-tooled the team's forward lines heading into tonight's matchup, including moving Frank Vatrano up to the top line to play with Evgenii Dadonov and Aleksander Barkov.
Vatrano has posted three goals and two assists over his last seven games.
"We're looking to separate some of our skill," Boughner said of the move. "They're just not getting it done at 5-on-5 right now. Putting Frankie up there, I think it supplies a little bit of energy. I think he's pretty tenacious on the forecheck. He gets on pucks quick and retrieves pucks quick. Hopefully that will give that line a whole different look."
In the midst of his second season with the Panthers after being acquired in trade with Boston in February, Vatrano has already reached new career-highs in goals (13) and points (20), carving out a nice spot for himself in the team's middle-six while averaging 14:11 of ice time per game.
"I feel like I've played the same way all year," said Vatrano, who's 12 even-strength goals are tied for the team lead. "I'm just trying to work hard every shift every night, making sure that I'm consistent every single night. It's obviously good to get a promotion to that top line."
Vatrano's consistency on the offensive side of the puck is evidenced by the fact that the 24-year-old has only gone more than four games without scoring a goal just one time this season.
"I think the past couple years I've been known kind of as a streaky goal scorer, where I'd score five in six games or so and then don't score or get a point for the next 20 games," Vatrano said. "My goal for me this year is not just to obviously score goals, but to have an overall game, to make sure that if I'm not scoring goals or putting points up that I'm bringing something every single night. I think because I'm doing that more I'm getting on the scoresheet a lot more."
Looking to combat Montreal's toughness -- they rank third in the NHL with 1,270 hits -- Boughner is also inserting defenseman Ian McCoshen into the lineup for the first time this season, deploying the 23-year-old with MacKenzie Weegar on the team's bottom pairing.
"I want to keep it simple," said McCoshen, who notched nine assists in 35 games with AHL Springfield prior to his call-up. "I've been on this road trip with the guys here. I want to get back into game shape. I haven't played in a little over a week, so just trying to feel out the first couple of shifts and just compete really hard."
Boughner said he expects McCoshen to "supply us with a little bit of that grit down low."
"We're just trying to be simple-minded here and put our best foot forward here," McCoshen said. "I know their forecheck is very similar to ours, so we know how to handle that system. They've been pretty physical throughout the whole season."
The Canadiens (25-17-5) have won three out of their last four games - including a 3-2 overtime win in Boston on Thursday - to gain hold of the first wild card spot in the East. And Despite owning the league's 31st power play and 19th penalty kill, they make up for their lack of bite on special teams by excelling at 5-on-5, where their 104 goals scored rank seventh in the NHL.
Max Domi leads the Canadiens in points (40), while Brendan Gallagher paces the team in goals (18). In their only previous meeting this season, Tomas Tatar scored a pair of goals - the first coming just 35 seconds into the game - to lead Montreal past Florida 5-3 on Dec. 28 in Sunrise.
"I'd suspect they have a response tonight," Boughner said. "We weren't happy with our game with Montreal. It's the same thing that's going on right now, we turned too many pucks over that game. Montreal's a good team… We've got to do a better job as a team managing the puck."

NOTES

-- A 2019 All-Star, Keith Yandle leads Florida's defensemen in both points (36) and assists (30), while his 23 power-play points are tied for fourth in the NHL and first among all defensemen.
-- Aaron Ekblad ranks first among Panthers defensemen in goals (8) and has registered five points (one goal, four assists) over his past seven games. With one more goal, the 2014 first overall pick will surpass Robert Svehla (61) for most goals by a blueliner in franchise history.
-- Mike Hoffman stands as Florida's leader goals (21), including three over his past six games. The 29-year-old winger also leads the team and ranks tied for fourth in the NHL with 10 power-play goals, which is just three fewer than the career-high 13 he posted in 2016-17.
-- Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov ranks second on the team in points (44), including 16 (six goals, 10 assists) over his last 14 games. The 23-year-old center also ranks third in the NHL in takeaways (61), while his 23:13 of ice time per game places him first among forwards.
-- Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers in scoring with 47 points, including 30 (eight goals, 22 assists) over his last 24 games. The 25-year-old winger also ranks first on the team with 17 multi-point games.
-- Florida's penalty kill has operated at a 94.4 percent success rate over its last eight games, killing off 17 of 18 opposing power plays during that span. In that span, defenseman Mike Matheson has logged a team-leading 19:36 of shorthanded ice time.

GEICO GOALIE MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Roberto Luongo (8-11-1, 3.34 GAA, .892 SV%) vs. Antti Niemi (7-4-1, 3.84 GAA, .886 SV%)
A Montreal native, Luongo will get the nod in net for the Panthers. The 39-year-old has started each of the last two games, stopping 31 of 34 shots during his last outing against the Canucks on Sunday. In his career against the Canadiens, he owns a 17-15-7 record with a 2.39 goals-against average, .924 save percentage and four shutouts.
With Carey Price getting the nod on Monday, Niemi is expected to be between the pipes against the Panthers. The 35-year-old has played arguably his best hockey of the season during his last two starts, stopping 75 of 79 shots during that span for a .949 save percentage. Niemi picked up the win against Florida on Dec. 28 in Sunrise, improving to 2-5-1 all-time against the Panthers.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Forwards
Frank Vatrano - Aleksander Barkov - Evgenii Dadonov
Jonathan Huberdeau - Henrik Borgstrom - Nick Bjugstad
Mike Hoffman - Jared McCann - Denis Malgin
Jayce Hawryluk - Juho Lammikko - Colton Sceviour
Defense
Keith Yandle - Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson - Mark Pysyk
Ian McCoshen - MacKenzie Weegar
Goalies
Roberto Luongo
James Reimer
Scratches: Bogdan Kiselevich, Micheal Haley, Troy Brouwer
Injured Reserve: Derek MacKenzie (shoulder), Jamie McGinn (back), Vincent Trocheck (ankle)

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• Jan. 7: D Ian McCoshen was recalled from Springfield (AHL)
  - Jan. 7: D Chris Wideman was loaned to Springfield (AHL)

HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN

When:Tuesday, Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Bell Centre - MONTREAL, QC
TV:Fox Sports Florida
Stream:
HERE
Florida Panthers Radio Network: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast)
Watch Party: Thanks to the new "Territory on Tap" program, every road game now offers a chance for a watch party in South Florida! To see which local bars and restaurants will have drink specials and giveaways for today's game,
visit the official "Territory on Tap" page!