SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers are preparing for a big week across the border.
With three tough games within the Atlantic Division on the docket, they’ll kick off their three-game road trip with a key matchup against the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday.
After that, they’ll visit the Maple Leafs on Tuesday and Canadiens on Thursday.
Even though it’s early, the importance of these four-point swings can’t be understated.
“This is like a playoff week here,” head coach Paul Maurice said following Sunday’s practice at Amerant Bank Arena. “Whether this week happens now or happens in March, it’s the same thing. We’ve liked most of our hockey in the first 20, but we still have a lot to get better at.”
With roughly a quarter of the season in the books, the division couldn’t be tighter.
Although the Bruins (14-3-3) have a six-point cushion in first place, the gap between the Panthers (12-7-1) in second and the Canadiens (9-10-2) in seventh is a mere five points.
The Senators (8-8-0) are in eighth with just 16 points, but have played in just 16 games – and only three since Nov. 12 -- due to playing two games in Sweden for the NHL’s Global Series.
“It’s definitely an important road trip,” forward Sam Bennett said. “We’ve got divisional games against three strong teams. We’re excited for it, we’re prepared for it and we know how important this is. … We’ve got to play harder. For us right now, just keep it simple really.”
Unhappy with how they played during a 3-0 loss to the Jets in the final game of their homestand on Friday, the Panthers went hard during this morning’s practice before heading to the airport.
“We needed to deal with some things from our last outing, so we did that this morning,” Maurice said of the spirited session. “We did it on the ice. I liked practice today. We got back at ‘er.”
Despite losing each of the last two games, Florida has gone 7-3-0 in its last 10.
REILLY CLAIMED
Mike Reilly is headed to Long Island.
After being placed on waivers by the Panthers on Friday, the 30-year-old defenseman was claimed by the Islanders on Saturday. Signed to a one-year contract on July 1, he appeared in two games with the Panthers this season, averaging 14:08 of ice time during those contests.
Prior to signing with Florida, Reilly had played in 337 games over eight seasons in the NHL.
“I’m happy for him,” Maurice said. “We would’ve loved selfishly for Mike to have cleared waivers so we’d have a good NHL depth defenseman in Charlotte that we could call up. We had an unusual set of circumstances. We brought a bunch of guys in because we had two guys with injuries that were long term. They competed for jobs and we just really like where Kulikov, Mahura and Balinskis finished.
"Mike didn’t do anything wrong to not make it, the other guys just had great camps. He kind of just got caught in this not playing. To his credit, Mike worked hard every single day. He was a positive around the group. A difficult situation for a man that wants to play in the National Hockey League. We’re actually really happy for him that he gets a chance.”
With Reilly now in a different uniform, the Panthers have seven defensemen on their roster.
That number will be bumped up to eight when Josh Mahura is ready to return from IR.
Wearing a yellow no-contact jersey, Mahura took part in this morning’s practice.
“He’s back able to skate with us non-contact,” Maurice said. “That’s the first stage. I would think that over the next three or four days he’ll get out of that sweater, the gold, and get into a red. Once that happens, we’ll get leaning on him and get banging on him and then he’d be ready.”
MOVEMBER
The month of mustaches is nearing an end.
Throughout the month of November, several players and coaches have been sporting some fun facial hair in support of Movember, which is a month-long campaign where men are encouraged to grow a mustache to bring awareness to men’s health issues, both mental and physical.
Movember also coincides with Hockey Fights Cancer Month in the NHL.
“Obviously it’s a great cause,” said Bennett, whose facial hair game is always on point. “I’ve done it for a bunch of years now. Obviously they support a really good cause and it raises a lot of money. I love rocking the mustache, so any excuse for me to rock the mustache, I’m in for it."
Jonah Gadjovich is also sporting a strong mustache in hopes of generating some donations to the cause.
“There’s a lot of people that I know and people dealing with health issues – cancer, mental health, whatever it is,” said Gadjovich, who signed with the Panthers in October. “That’s why I grow it. I’ve got my own Movember page, so if anyone wants to donate you can hit that up.”
To view his Movember page, click here.
SUNDAY’S PRACTICE LINES
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Steven Lorentz
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Brandon Montour
Oliver-Ekman Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura – Uvis Balinskis
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
