SUNRISE, Fla. – Welcome back, Cap!
After missing the last two games while nursing an injury, Aleksander Barkov will return to the lineup when the Florida Panthers host the Winnipeg Jets at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday.
Escaping what initially looked like a potential serious injury, Barkov had been held out of action ever since he was involved in a knee-on-knee collision during a 2-1 win at Anaheim on Nov. 17.
“We’re lucky on that one,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “It could’ve been the season. … He healed up. He comes back in and he feels strong and he feels right or we’d hold him [out]. We’ve kind of earned the right to be really careful with these things right now, and he’s ready to go. He was close to playing the other night and we held him [out]. It’s good to have him back.”
An elite two-way player, Barkov has logged 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 16 games this season. Anchoring the team’s lethal top line, the 28-year-old former Selke Trophy winner has also helped the Panthers outscore the opposition 16-3 when he’s been on the ice at 5-on-5 play.
“You see his puck battles every day, and he wins, I don’t know, 95% of them,” fellow Panthers center Kevin Stenlund said when asked about Barkov’s unique skillset and domination in all three zones. “It’s actually insane. It’s just fun to be a part of that and just see it every day.”
In addition to Barkov coming back, the Panthers will also make a change on defense.
After suiting up in the first 19 games of the season, Dmitry Kulikov will get a rest while Uvis Balinskis slots back in on the blue line. Balinskis, who’s been a scratch ever since Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour returned from injury on Nov. 16, has goal and an assist in 14 games.
Boasting one of the deepest defensive units in the NHL, the Panthers have more NHL-caliber defenseman than spots available at the moment. Additionally, it'll get even more crowded when Josh Mahura is cleared to return from injury sometime within the next 5-7 days.
While no player ever likes to sit, this sort of depth is something any team would covet.
“He absolutely didn't deserve to come out of the lineup, but neither did anybody else,” Maurice said of Balinskis. “For me, Dmitry doesn't deserve to come out of the lineup, but I'm going to have eight NHL defensemen here very soon. I won't come out and say I'm going to platoon them because I won't. But I am going to work really hard to make sure a guy doesn't sit out too long.
“I also don't want to be jerking guys in and out of the lineup. Uvis needed to play soon. He’s earned the right to get back in. Dmitry, those are big minutes that he and [Niko] Mikkola played. Big part of us feeling comfortable with where we’re at. He’s a really important part of the team, but we’re going to have to get used to this a little bit.”
In second place in the Atlantic Division at 12-6-1, the Panthers have won seven of their last nine games, but enter tonight’s contest looking to rebound from a 3-1 loss to the Bruins on Wednesday.
Despite leading in both shot attempts (53-37) and scoring chances (20-13) at 5-on-5, the Panthers simply couldn’t get enough pucks through Boston’s stingy defense and past Linus Ullmark. Stopping all 15 shots he faced in the first period, Ullmark finished with 27 saves.
Anton Lundell scored the lone goal for Florida, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves.
“We came out hot, but it didn’t go,” Maurice said after the loss. “Both goalies were really good tonight. Then the power play, penalty kill starts to grind a little bit. They made good on two of their chances and we didn’t. That’s the game. There’s some things we didn’t love. In terms of puck movement, we got away from each other a little bit. Other than that, it was a tight game.”
Off to the hottest start of his career, Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals (13) and points (25). Pacing the team with 14 assists, Matthew Tkachuk is tied with Barkov for second in points with 17. In fourth, Carter Verhaeghe has produced 15 points, including scoring eight goals.
Across the ice, the Jets have gotten off to a great start as well.
Occupying second place in the Central Division, Winnipeg improved to 11-5-2 with a 3-2 overtime win at Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Adam Lowry scored the game-winning goal 1:39 into the extra frame against the Lightning, while Connor Hellebuyck stopped 31 of 32 shots in net.
Winning seven of their last eight games, the Jets are averaging 4.38 goals per tilt in that span.
Kyle Connor leads Winnipeg and is tied for first in the NHL with 14 goals. Tied with Connor for the team lead in points, Mark Scheifele has registered 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists). On the blue line, Josh Morrissey has contributed 18 points, including dishing out 15 assists.
“These guys have a real good hockey team,” Maurice said. “They’ve got a real good mixture of players. They’ve got maybe the most-dominant checking line in the NHL with Adam Lowry centering it, and then they’ve got two really skilled lines that can create and make plays.”
Facing off for the second and final time this season, the Jets secured a 6-4 win over the Panthers in their first meeting back on Oct. 14 in the team’s Home Opener at Canada Life Centre. In that loss, Evan Rodrigues racked up a career-high four points for the Panthers.
Bobrovsky is expected to start for Florida, while Hellebuyck could potentially get the nod for Winnipeg.
Finding success on home ice, the Panthers own a 7-2-0 record in Sunrise this season.
“Just get back to our game, our basics and what our strengths are,” Montour said when asked about the keys to coming out on top in the team’s series finale against the Jets. “Obviously we weren’t happy with the result in Winnipeg, so hopefully we can take it to them tonight.”
PREGAME QUOTES
“It’s only been three games, but legs feel good, body feels good. It’s just about getting more touches, getting some confidence back. It was a long time off. Trying to ease into it, but help the team any way I can.” – Brandon Montour on shaking off the rust following his injury
“It’s also a really good thing to have adversity. You want to be playing your best hockey, that’s everyone’s goal. But you’ve got to be playing so much better hockey seven months from now. You don’t want to be winning on your power play, you don’t want your goaltender necessarily to be standing on his head. You want a little bit of that adversity so you can address the problems.” – Paul Maurice on the Panthers having to overcome some adversity early on this season
“Just focus on our game. Play hard, play fast. Just keep that going.” – Kevin Stenlund on the keys to coming out on top against Winnipeg
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers have won six of their last seven games on home ice.
- Florida is allowing the fourth-fewest shots on goal per game in the NHL (27.9).
- Gustav Forsling leads the Panthers in total ice time this season (442:23).
- Aleksander Barkov is winning 55.1% of his faceoffs.
- Florida has led 114-71 in shot attempts when Sam Bennett has been on the ice at 5-on-5.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Brandon Montour
Oliver-Ekman Larsson – Uvis Balinskis
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Nov. 17: F Jonah Gadjovich recalled from AHL conditioning assignment
- Nov. 17: D Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour activated off injured reserve
- Nov. 13: F William Lockwood loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH
When: Friday, Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Here
