FORT LAUDERDALE – Rest while you can.
Back in Florida following a busy four-game road trip to the northeast, which ended with a back-to-back with the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders over the weekend, the Florida Panthers (41-24-3) were back on the ice practicing at Baptist Health IcePlex Wednesday after two off-days.
“It was huge,” Anton Lundell said of getting a couple days off after a busy road trip. “I feel like our schedule has been pretty crazy. Going into the end of the season you want to save all the energy you can and make sure you're ready when the game starts.”
Not the results the Panthers were looking for on the road, the team fell in three of the four games.
Still in a good spot as the home stretch approaches, the Panthers have won seven of their last 10 games, and with 85 points they’re two points ahead of both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
“Structurally, I’m very comfortable with our game,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “We are correct in that part of our game. I think foot speed, some of the other teams have an advantage on us right now. We can play a little faster.”
With the schedule not getting any easier, the team will go back on the road to face-off against the Colombus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
Dealing with yet another back-to-back, they’ll return home to host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
“You can learn a lot,” rookie forward Mackie Samoskevich said of facing some adversity at the end of the regular season. “A lot of teams are fighting for a playoff spot, so it kind of does turn into playoff hockey towards the end here. It's huge for our group.”
Just outside of the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Blue Jackets trail the Canadiens by three points. With that, they’ll certainly be giving the Panthers all they can handle on Thursday as the playoffs inch closer.
Closing the trip out in the nation’s capital on Saturday, Washington’s 98 points leads the Eastern Conference and is tied with the Winnipeg Jets for the most in the NHL in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy.
With less than a month left in the season – and competing in one of the tightest divisions in the league -- the battle-tested Panthers are getting an early taste of playoff hockey.
BJORNFOT CALLED UP
With Dmitry Kulikov considered week-to-week after suffering an upper-body injury in Sunday’s loss on Long Island, the Panthers have recalled Tobias Bjornfot from the Charlotte Checkers.
A familiar face in the locker room, Bjornfot has already played eight games with the team this season and was part of the expanded playoff roster for last year’s run to the Stanley Cup.
“It’s nice to have a guy that you bring up that everybody knows when he hops in the room and gets on the plane,” said Maurice.
Recording 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 43 games for Charlotte this season, the 23-year-old blueliner has shown his ability to play at the pro level and in Florida’s system.
“His game for us has been very good,” said Maurice of the former first-round pick. “He’s one of those guys that falls into the category when you send him down, you feel bad. His play has been solid for us, we just have had depth at that position while he’s been here.”
Coming in with confidence, Bjornfot tallied four points in his last six games with the Checkers.
MAINTENANCE DAY
Sam Bennett was the lone healthy Panther absent from Wednesday’s practice.
Thankfully, he’s fine.
“Just a maintenance day,” Maurice said.
A key cog for the Panthers in the middle of their second line, Bennett ranks second on the team in scoring with 45 points (22 goals, 23 assists) in 66 games.
On fire this month, the grizzled 28-year-old forward is tied with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart for the most points on the team in March, logging eight points (three goals, five assists) in eight games.
WEDNESDAY’S PRACTICE LINES
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Tomas Nosek – Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Jonah Gadjovich
Brad Marchand
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Seth Jones
Niko Mikkola – Tobias Bjornfot
Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
