Thanksgiving has long been about more than just turkey in the NHL.
An historically intriguing statistical indicator of how the league's postseason picture could shake out come April, just about 77% of teams that have held onto playoff spots at U.S. Thanksgiving during the salary cap era have wound up maintaining those spots and playing beyond Game 82.
For the Panthers, that's obviously great news.
PREVIEW: 1st-Place Panthers 'Dialed In' Heading into D.C.
Heading into their first post-Thanksgiving matchup against the Capitals on Friday at Capital One Arena, their outstanding 14-2-3 record not only places them first in the Atlantic Division, but also first overall in the league as their 31 points put them just a bit ahead of four other teams with 29. But even with history on their side, the Cats aren't going to get complacent.
"Our team is so dialed in that I don't think we've taken a step back to see how far we've come," Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said after Thursday's practice. "We just take it day by day. We want to keep this going. It's the first checkpoint, but we're looking at the next game."
Filling up before Thanksgiving, Weegar said veteran Joe Thornton hosted a team dinner on Monday.
"A few guys went over there and had dinner," said Weegar, flashing a big smile while talking about the future Hall of Famer's hospitality. "His wife handled everything. There was turkey, sweet potatoes, the whole deal. It was actually one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I've had."
Thornton, of course, was more than happy to open up his home.
"We're gelling really good," Thornton said of the team's chemistry. "It's a great group. We love hanging around each other and having some laughs. The boys are playing great right now."
Riding high heading into the holiday, the Panthers are coming off a 2-1 overtime win over the Flyers at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday. Trailing 1-0 in the third period, Sam Bennett tied the game on the power play to force the extra frame, where Aaron Ekblad buried the game-winner.
By capping off the come-from-behind win, the Panthers became just the second team in NHL history to start a season with 11 straight victories at home, joining the 1963-64 Blackhawks.
Overall, Florida has won each of its last four games while outscoring the opposition 17-7.
"I'm thankful for the effort the group has put together," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "It's been a turbulent little start here, but they've kept their focus. I was talking to the other assistants, and there hasn't been one game where we didn't have an A+ effort."
Producing at a point-per-game clip, Jonathan Huberdeau leads Florida in scoring with 19 points (six goals, 13 assists). Not far behind, Aleksander Barkov, who is currently week-to-week with a lower-body injury, Anthony Duclair and Ekblad have 17, while Carter Verhaeghe has tallied 15.
Yet to announce a starting goaltender, the Panthers will either turn to veteran Sergei Bobrovsky or rookie Spencer Knight. Whoever doesn't start tonight will likely man the crease on Saturday in Sunrise when the team closes out its back-to-back set with a matchup against the Kraken.
The first goaltender in franchise history to earn points in 11 straight decisions, Bobrovsky, who made 32 saves against Philadelphia on Wednesday, has gone 9-0-2 with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. Also off to great start, Knight, who made a career-high 45 saves in his last outing, is 5-2-1 with a 2.98 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.
"We have a big belief in our group," Bobrovsky said after shutting down the Flyers.
Just two points behind the Panthers in the NHL's standings and in first place in the Metropolitan Division, the Capitals have won seven of their last nine games to improve to 12-3-5 this season.
After suffering a 5-2 loss at Seattle on Sunday, Washington responded with a 6-3 beatdown of the Canadiens on Wednesday. Against Montreal, six different Capitals found the back of the net, Alex Ovechkin dished out three assists, and Ilya Samsonov turned aside 25 of 28 shots.
The third-highest scoring player in the league, Ovechkin has notched 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 20 games, including tallying three goals and three assists in his last three contests.
Starting three of four games leading up to Thanksgiving, it's possible that Samsonov gets the nod against the Panthers. In nine appearances this season, he's gone 7-0-1 on top of a 2.22 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. He also has shutouts in three of those starts.
In their first meeting of the season on Nov. 4, Barkov scored a pair of goals as the Panthers jumped out to a 4-1 lead on home ice. After that, the Capitals scored three straight goals to force overtime before Eetu Luostarinen tallied the game-winner for Florida in the extra frame.
With the Panthers ranking second in the league on offense (3.84 goals per game) and the Capitals sitting in fourth (3.50 goals per game), more fireworks should be expected tonight.
"They're deadly," Brunette said. "They've got one of the greatest scorers ever on their team. They can go. They closed on us pretty fast last game. I thought we didn't manage the puck in the neutral zone as well as we should've and fed them a little bit later on. They're a good team."
PANTHERS NOTES
- The Panthers rank second in the NHL with a goal differential of +25.
- Florida has earned points in six of eight road games this season.
- The Panthers rank first in the NHL in takeaways (214).
- Jonathan Huberdeau is on a five-game point streak, posting three goals and three assists in that span. In 23 career games against the Capitals, he's tallied 20 points (six goals, 14 assists).
- Aaron Ekblad is on a five-game point streak in which he's notched two goals and five assists. His 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) this season are tied for third-most among NHL defensemen.
- Anthony Duclair's eight goals at even strength are tied for the eighth-most in the NHL.
- MacKenzie Weegar leads Florida in blocked shots (38) and sits second in hits (54).
- Carter Verhaeghe has lit the lamp in three of his last four games.
- The Panthers have 12 different players that have produced at least nine points.
- Radko Gudas ranks second in the NHL with 87 hits.
- If he can register a goal or an assist tonight, Joe Thornton will earn the 1,532nd point of his career and break out of a tie with Paul Coffey (1,531) for the 13th-most points in NHL history.
PANTHERS LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Jonathan Huberdeau - Sam Bennett - Anthony Duclair
Carter Verhaeghe - Anton Lundell - Sam Reinhart
Frank Vatrano - Joe Thornton - Owen Tippett
Ryan Lomberg - Eetu Luostarinen - Patric Hornqvist
Defensemen
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Gustav Forsling - Radko Gudas
Lucas Carlsson - Brandon Montour
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Nov. 18: F Joe Thornton activated from IR
- Nov. 16: D Olli Juolevi recalled from Charlotte (AHL) and placed on IR
RECENT ARTICLES / PODCASTS
-
Holiday Shopping: Black Friday Deals are Live
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5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers Make History at Home on Ekblad's OT Winner
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Territory Talk: Cats Keep Pushing; Opening the Mailbag
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Q&A: Luostarinen Talks Lighting the Lamp, Living in South Florida & More
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Panthers Launch All-New Kids Club
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Registration for the 'Sunrise Showdown' NHL 22 Tournament is Open
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NOTEBOOK: A Team Effort on Defense; Gudas Setting the Tone
HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN
When: Friday, Nov. 26 at 5:00 p.m. ET
Where:Capital One Arena - Washington, D.C.
TV:Bally Sports Florida
Stream: Bally Sports App, ESPN+ (Out of Region)
Radio:560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys), SiriusXM App & Streaming Channel 932
