SUNRISE, Fla. -The Florida Panthers will look to extend their point streak to a season-long eight games when they kick off a five-game homestand against the Montreal Canadiens at BB&T Center on Thursday night.
The Panthers (32-25-7) are returning home after erasing three separate two-goal deficits to secure a meaningful point in a 5-4 overtime loss in Tampa on Tuesday. Florida entered the game riding a season-long winning streak after their second-ever perfect 6-0-0 homestand.
Panthers Top Line is Hot Heading into Matchup with Montreal
Florida has won 13 of its last 17 contests.
"We had a great homestand. We got a lot of important points and a lot of important wins; Go to Tampa and scrape a point out of there after being down two going into the third" Panthers coach Bob Boughner said after Thursday's morning skate.
"The team's playing well. They're playing pretty consistent and competing hard every night. Starting a new five-game homestand, this is another block of games before we go on the road again where we know these are must-have points."
With 18 games left to play in the regular season, Florida trails Columbus by two points for the second wild card spot and New Jersey by five points for the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers also have three games in hand on both clubs and will play 10 more games this season at home, where they own a 19-9-3 record.
"It's always nice playing at home," Panthers winger Jonathan Huberdeau said. "We got a huge point last game and now we just need to come home for the last stretch and get a lot of points. We need these points right now real bad. We've just got to get into a playoff spot then control our own destiny. We've just got to get some points and play well."
Panthers center Aleksander Barkov is carrying a seven-game point streak into tonight's game (5-7-12), continuing a torrid pace that has helped move him into the top-20 in league scoring.
In the midst of his third consecutive 20-goal, 50-point campaign, the 22-year-old center has already established new career highs in points (66) and assists (41), while also sharing the team lead in goals (25) with Vincent Trocheck.
"I just want to do my job," said Barkov, who averages more ice time (22:23) than any forward in the NHL. "I want to help the team win games. Every time I step on the ice, everything I have to do I try to do it my best. I work hard every day at the rink trying to get better."
Since Feb. 22, Florida's top-line trio of Evgenii Dadonov, Nick Bjugstad and Barkov has been on an impressive tear, combining for 14 goals, 19 assists and 33 points over the last seven games.
"They've been great with me," Barkov said of his linemates. "It's been easy to play with them because they've been really good linemates. If you pass to them, you know they're going to pass it back. They work hard and they stay on the puck. I really enjoy playing with them."
The Canadiens (25-30-11) are heading in the opposite direction as the Panthers, losing 10 of their last 13 games, including a 6-4 loss in New Jersey on Tuesday. With 61 points, Montreal has the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Still, the Panthers aren't taking the Canadiens lightly, even though the team will be without their starting goaltender (Carey Price, concussion), their top defenseman (Shea Weber, foot), and their most-consistent forward (Max Pacioretty, knee).
"Every game is going to be tough in this league," Barkov said. "It doesn't matter who we play against. Montreal still has a lot of good players on their team. We need to play our own game. Right now, in this situation, everything is all about us. We need to play our best games every night."
NOTES
- The Panthers have gone 14-for-47 (29.8 percent) with the man advantage of their last 14 games. Since Feb. 5, Florida's power play unit ranks second in the NHL. Vincent Trocheck leads the club with a career-high 12 powerplay goals and 21 power-play points.
- Aaron Ekblad has posted 12 points (4-9-13) over his last 15 games and owns a four-game point streak (1-4-5) entering tonight's contest. His 13 goals rank him tied for third in the NHL among all defensemen. At 22, Ekblad leads Florida's defensemen in goals (13), power-play goals (4) and shots (161), while also leading the team in even-strength ice time (1222:07).
- Nick Bjugstad registered his first NHL hat trick on Tuesday in Tampa. He is the fourth Panther this season to register a hat trick -- the most the club has produced in a single season since 2009-10. The 25-year-old forward has posted nine points (4-5-9) over his last seven games and is five points away from tying his career-high for points (43, 2014-15).
- Roberto Luongo is expected to start for the Panthers on Thursday. Since returning to the lineup from a roughly two-month absence on Feb. 17, the 38-year-old has posted a 6-1-1 record with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Evgenii Dadonov - Aleksander Barkov - Nick Bjugstad
Jonathan Huberdeau - Vincent Trocheck - Radim Vrbata
Jamie McGinn - Jared McCann - Maxim Mamin
Micheal Haley - Derek MacKenzie - Colton Sceviour
Defense
Keith Yandle - Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson - Mark Pysyk
MacKenzie Weegar - Alexander Petrovic
Goalies
Roberto Luongo
James Reimer
Scratches: Ian McCoshen, Connor Brickley, Denis Malgin
Injured Reserve: Frank Vatrano (lower-body)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Feb. 14: G Roberto Luongo activated from IR
- Feb. 14: G Harri Sateri loaned to Springfield (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH
When: Thursday, March 8, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: BB&T Center - Sunrise, FL
TV coverage: FOX Sports Florida (check local listings)
Florida Panthers Radio Network Presented by HARD Lifestyle Beverages: 880 WZAB (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast)
Where to stream it: FOX Sports GO and
NHL.TV
(outside state of Florida)
Tickets:
https://www.nhl.com/panthers/tickets
