Producing at better than a point-per-game clip this season, Barkov, who's racked up 50 points (16 goals, 34 assists) in 49 games, has been out since Feb. 20, while Bennett, who's logged 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) and 131 hits in 56 games, has been out of action since Feb. 14.
Barkov is expected to center a line with Eetu Luostarinen and Anthony Duclair, who only recently made his season debut following offseason Achilles surgery, while Bennett will likely slide back in between Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk, who leads Florida in assists (51) and points (79).
For the first time in a long time, the Panthers are feeling pretty healthy as a team.
"Size and speed," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of getting his top-two centers back. "The hands and the skill is fine, but two big men in the middle of the ice makes a difference to your D-zone coverage and how well you can hang onto the puck in the offensive zone."
With 19 games left, the Panthers enter tonight's matchup at 30-27-6 and sitting four points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Alternating wins and losses since early February, they suffered a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators in their last outing on Thursday.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Panthers led 24-11 in shots on goal, 57-22 in shot attempts and 18-3 in high-danger shot attempts over the second and third periods, but ended up with only a goal from Brandon Montour to show for it as they were unable to capitalize on those chances.
Expected to man the crease against the Penguins, Sergei Bobrovsky was strong in net once again against Nashville. Stopping 21 of 22 shots at even strength against the Predators, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has gone 11-6-1 with a .914 save percentage since Dec. 29.
Hoping to jumpstart their playoff push against Pittsburgh, a better start will be key.
"Last game the start got away from us a little bit," Verhaeghe said. "We spotted them [goals] early. It's tough to come back in this league. We definitely want to be ready to play coming into tonight. It's a really impotent game, especially for the playoff picture. We're going to be ready tonight."
Holding onto the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 31-21-9, the Penguins have followed up a four-game losing streak with a four-game winning streak, a run they were able to just barely keep alive with a 5-4 overtime win at Tampa Bay on Thursday.
Jeff Petry and Jason Zucker each lit the lamp twice against the Lightning, with Zucker's second goal coming at 2:13 of the extra frame to lock in the win for the Penguins. In net, Tristan Jarry turned made 27 saves for Pittsburgh, including stopping 20 of 22 shots he saw at even strength.
"It's important for us to get wins, regardless of our opponent," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters after the win. "Obviously, we've got a ton of respect for that team. They're an accomplished group, loaded with talent. Our guys competed really hard."
Pittsburgh's cornerstones for more than a decade, Sidney Crosby leads the team in goals (27), assists (46) and points (73), while Evgeni Malkin ranks second in assists (39) and points (62).
The main man between the pipes for the Penguins, Jarry has started five of the last six games. In 32 appearances this season, he's gone 19-7-5 with a .916 save percentage and one shutout. Backing him up, Casey DeSmith has posted an 11-12-4 record on top of a .904 save percentage.
Adding veteran pieces to their roster before Friday's trade deadline, the Penguins acquired Mikael Granlund from Nashville, Nick Bonino from San Jose and Dmitry Kulikov from Anaheim.
His second tour of duty in the Steel City, Bonino helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017. As for Granlund, the 31-year-old had posted 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists) in 58 games prior to being moved. Kulikov, meanwhile, has played in nearly 900 NHL games.
That being said, game planning for the Penguins still starts and ends with Crosby and Malkin.
"Everybody's had the exact same game plan their entire careers, and they're still going to produce," Maurice said. "You want to limit. If you give them enough, they're going to take all of it. They're going to get their chances. We've got to stay out of the box and have a hard gap."
Facing off for the third and final time this season, the Penguins have come out on top in each of the first two meetings, but haven't found a ton of success in Sunrise as of late. Dating back to Feb. 24, 2018, the Panthers own a 4-2-0 record over the Penguins in games played at FLA Live Arena.
"It's going to be speed and simplicity," Maurice said. "I think both teams are built in some ways with the same mindset. They've got lots of guys that can skate and make plays. That's just there. We don't need to do that. What we do need is to make sure that we don't allow them that time and space, and I think they feel the same way."
