FORT LAUDERDALE – Adam Boqvist’s status remains a bit up in the air.
Making his debut with the Florida Panthers in the team’s Season Opener on Tuesday, the young defenseman exited the 6-4 win over the Boston Bruins late in the first period after taking a puck to the face when defenseman Brandon Carlo attempted to clear the zone.
After spending some time down on the ice, he skated off with a towel covering the damage.
Following Wednesday’s practice at Baptist Health IcePlex, head coach Paul Maurice said that Boqvist is still being looked at, but if there’s “nothing sister” he’ll be on the plane when the Panthers depart Fort Lauderdale later this afternoon to kick off a four-game road trip.
“It’ll all depend on the report,” Maurice said.
Expected to play an important role for the Panthers after being inked to a one-year deal, Boqvist has been quarterbacking the top power-play unit from the start of training camp.
Despite seeing only 2:52 of ice time at 5-on-5, he looked comfortable in his debut.
In those limited minutes, the Bruins had just one shot attempt and no scoring chances.
The eighth-overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Boqvist had notched 85 points (23 goals, 62 assists) over 209 career NHL games with Chicago and Columbus prior to joining Florida.
Stay tuned for another update on Boqvist following Thursday’s morning skate.
TOP LINE STILL DOMINATES
To no one’s surprise, Florida’s top line picked up right where it left off against the Bruins.
Over 6:58 of ice time at 5-on-5, the trio of Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe held a 9-2 edge in shots on goal and a 72.22% share of shot attempts in the win.
They also combined for a goal and two assists.
In the middle, Barkov won 71.4% of his draws.
The best thing?
With the surprise post-game announcement of an eight-year extension for Verhaeghe, the Panthers have all three players on their top line under contract through at least 2029-30.
“It’s so typical of the experience of being in that room,” Maurice said. “You’ve got some elite players that have had great success in their careers, and they want to stay. What you love is I don’t think their primary decision is about the money. I don’t think that’s the driver for them.”
HEADING TO OTTAWA
To quote Frodo Baggins in Fellowship of the Ring, ‘But you’ve only just arrived!’
Yes, the Panthers are already hitting the road.
Packing up their 1-0-0 record and heading north, the defending Stanley Cup champions will open a four-game swing with a tough matchup against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
Last season, Florida went a perfect 4-0-0 against Ottawa.
Always entertaining, they combined for 243 penalty minutes in those games.
“Whenever Ottawa and Florida get together, it seems to heat up pretty quick,” Maurice said.
After facing the Senators, the Panthers will then battle the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, the Bruins on Monday, and then end their trip against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
To follow along from home, visit FloridaPanthers.com/HowToWatch.
