The Florida Panthers won't need any added motivation for this one.
Getting their first taste of real competitive action in more than four months, the Panthers will look to get their game back up to speed when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Wednesday.
Their lone tune-up before beginning their postseason run, the Panthers will be focusing primarily on their own game in this tilt, as they'll kick off a best-of-five series against the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers on Saturday.
"You want to come out of it clean and neat, everybody ready to go for the first game," Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville said. "It's a game where you can work on either special teams or the pace of the game.
"It's not the same flow that you've had the last couple of weeks… You've got a couple extra guys that you can look at in that game as well. The bottom line is [for us to] make sure that we're ready to play after that game."
After missing the final three days of training camp, defenseman Aaron Ekblad will not suit up against the Lightning. That being said, Ekblad, who practiced with the Cats on Monday, is expected to man the blue line in Game 1 against New York.
In 67 games this season, Ekblad set new a new career-high with 41 points.
"We're not going to play him in the Tampa game, but he'll get skating time on Wednesday," Quenneville said of Ekblad, who also leads Florida in average ice time per game (22:59). "We'll go into the weekend and he'll be ready to go."
With Ekblad out, the Panthers could potentially experiment a bit with their lineup against Tampa Bay. Additionally, due to the unusual circumstances, the NHL is allowing teams to dress 20 skaters during the exhibition instead of the usual 18.
One name to keep an eye out for is newcomer Aleksi Saarela, who is coming off a spectacular showing during the team's two-week training camp. Acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks back in October, the 23-year-old sniper registered four points (two goals, two assists) during a nine-game stint with Florida this season.
During camp, Quenneville raved about Saarela's work ethic and rocket of a shot.
"He's competitive in a lot of ways as well," Quenneville said. "As we look back on our team, we have some depth now, some decision making to do as we go forward. He does push us to make some tough decisions a long the way."
As for the Lightning, who are gearing up for a three-game round robin that will determine who the top-four seeds will be heading into the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, they will also be missing some of their star power in this matchup.
Steven Stamkos is expected to sit out the contest while recovering from a lower-body injury, while defenseman Victor Hedman isn't expected to join Tampa Bay in the bubble until Friday due to having to handle a personal matter back home.
During the regular season, Stamkos notched 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists), while Hedman, a finalist for the Norris Trophy, posted 55 (11 goals, 44 assists).
Although the Bolts owned the top offense in the league this season (3.47 goals per game), the Cats weren't that far off that pace at sixth (3.30 goals per game).
"We've had our battles over the years," Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. "They're obviously a great team. They're fast. They're skilled. It's going to get us prepared for the Islanders, for sure."
Echoing what Quenneville said earlier, however, the Panthers aren't too worried about who the Lightning will wheel out or even what they're doing on the ice. For the players, this tilt is all about assessing their own game, not their opponents.
"We've been practicing the last month, but nothing's really like a game situation," Panthers forward Noel Acciari said. "The power play, penalty kill, playing against different guys, I think it's going to help us get our legs under us a little better."
Of course, there's bound to be a least a little animosity on the ice.
After all, the cross-state rivals saw a lot of each other this season. Kicking off 2019-20 with five straight head-to-head matchups (three in the preseason and two in the regular season), this will be the eighth time they've battled this year.
During the regular season, Tampa Bay owned a 3-1-0 record against Florida.
"We're used to playing exhibition games against them," said Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau, who tallied a team-high 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists) this season. "It's just one more."
"Like I said, it doesn't matter the team we're playing, we're going to focus on the Islanders. It's just to get back and play a real game. It's going to be good before we start the real thing."
The exhibition game will be broadcast on FOX Sports Florida, NHL Network and 560 WQAM.
