St. Paul, Minn. – The cap could be back.
After missing the last two games with an illness, Aleksander Barkov will be a game-time decision to suit up for the Florida Panthers when they close out their five-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday.
Sam Bennett, who is also dealing with an illness, will not play.
“He got through the morning skate and felt pretty good,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Barkov’s status. “We’ll get some more food into him and make that decision. Sam Bennett won’t go. He was significantly under the weather in the Edmonton game, but knew Barkov couldn’t play and gutted it out for us. The cost of that is that he doesn’t play tonight.”
Sitting at 19-11-2, the Panthers are 2-2-0 on their current trip.
After being held without a goal in two straight games, the floodgates finally opened for the Panthers in a thrilling 6-5 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Monday.
Trailing 4-3 entering the third period, Niko Mikkola and Sam Reinhart each scored within a span of just 30 seconds to put the Panthers up 5-4. After Kasperi Kapanen tied things up for the Oilers, Carter Verhaeghe scored to make it 6-5 with what held up as the game-winner.
Saving the Panthers from overtime, Sergei Bobrovsky, who will man the crease once again in Minnesota, made a lunging stop with his right pad on Leon Draisaitl with 25 seconds left in regulation.
Overall, 10 different Panthers recorded a point in the win.
An emotional game, it was the first meeting between the Panthers and Oilers since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in June.
“That was important to us,” Maurice said of the way his team was able to battle it out. “I know we all say it’s just one of 82, but we don’t talk about those games like that. It was a big game. We go into their building after ending a series the way it did – down Barkov – and that was a huge win for us. Hopefully we can carry some of that juice and excitement over.”
Sitting in second place in the Central Division at 20-7-4, the Wild has lost three of its last five games following a five-game winning streak that stretched from Nov. 27 through Dec. 6.
The last time out, the Wild suffered a 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
Tied 2-2 after two periods, Victor Olofsson scored the game-winning goal for the Golden Knights at 3:49 of the third period. In defeat, the Wild mustered just 22 shots on goal, with six of them coming from star forward Kirill Kaprizov, who touched twine twice in the loss.
In net, 22-year-old rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt stopped 24 of 27 shots.
Off to an outstanding start, Kaprizov leads the Wild in goals (22), assists (25) and points (47). Over his last 10 games, the former Calder Trophy winner has lit the lamp a whopping nine times, including scoring twice in each of his last two games leading into tonight’s tilt.
“He’s a skilled player, fast and pretty strong for his size,” Mikkola said of Kaprizov, who has five goals in seven career games against Florida. “He’s got a good shot. We need to know when he’s on the ice and work together as five guys to try and keep him off the scoresheet.”
In addition to Kaprizov, the Wild is also getting contributions from two key youngsters and former first-round draft picks in Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi. Boldy, 23, is second on the team in goals (13) and points (29), while Rossi, 23, is third in goals (11) and points (25).
A tough nut to crack on defense, Minnesota ranks tied for second in the NHL with 2.52 goals allowed per game. Taking a look at some other numbers, much of that success has to do with the fact the Wild currently ranks first in the league with a 60.19 GF% at 5-on-5.
Owning a 6-1-1 record, Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start for Minnesota.
In their first meeting this season, the Wild topped the Panthers by a score of 5-1 on Oct. 22.
“They’re a great story,” Maurice said of Minnesota. “They’re a little bit like our team. They have some texture, if that’s the right word, to their group. They’ve got some high-end skilled guys, they’ve got some real physical guys, they’ve got some guys that can skate, they’ve got real good goaltending, and they adhere to a very consistent game.”
THEY SAID IT
“It feels like we’ve been on the road a long time. I think we’re fresh and good to go. We’ve got a great team to recover everybody. We’re ready.” – Niko Mikkola on ending the road trip
“Hyper-skilled player, but incredibly competitive and looks like he enjoys playing the game. It’s fun for him, right? The competition looks fun for him.” – Paul Maurice on Kirill Kaprizov
“I’m definitely proud of myself. I woke up with a little more jump in my step today. A lot of smiles on the ice today. Taking it all in. It’s been a long journey. I don’t plan on stopping now. I’m going to empty the tank every chance I get.” – A.J. Greer on skating in his 200th NHL game
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers are 11-0-0 when Eetu Luostarinen records a point.
- A.J. Greer is expected to skate in his 200th NHL game tonight.
- The Panthers are converting on 29.8% of their power plays on the road.
- Carter Verhaeghe has notched a point in eight of his last 12 games.
- Dmitry Kulikov appeared in 80 games with Minnesota in 2021-22.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe– Aleksander Barkov – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues – Jesper Boqvist – Mackie Samoskevich
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Dec. 6: G Chris Driedger loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 6: F Mackie Samoskevich recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 9:30 p.m. ET
Where: Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, MN
TV & Streaming: TNT, MAX
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT-AM & 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Cats on Tap: Click to View Participating Bars & Restaurants
