BOSTON - MacKenzie Weegar put it best.
The Panthers simply "buzzing" right now.
Looking to become just the fourth team in NHL history to start a season with nine straight wins, they'll wrap up their back-to-back set with a battle against the Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday.
PREVIEW: 'Buzzing' Panthers Look to Push Win Streak to 9 in Boston
"We just want to keep winning," Weegar said. "It's a great mood in the locker room. The boys are buzzing. We're having a lot of fun in there. We're a family. We've got great leadership."
Improving to 8-0-0 in dramatic fashion, Aleksander Barkov, after receiving a beautiful saucer pass from longtime teammate Jonathan Huberdeau, beat Alex Nedeljkovic with a silky-smooth backhand shot in overtime to lift the Panthers to a 3-2 victory over the Red Wings on Friday.
Barkov's second goal of the game, Eetu Luostarinen also touched twine for the Panthers, while Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 28 of 30 shots to improve his personal record to a perfect 6-0-0.
On an absolute tear to start the season, Bobrovsky, a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy, has allowed more than two goals in just one of his six starts this season, posting a 1.81 goals-against average and .944 save percentage while looking nearly unbeatable between the pipes.
"We're playing great hockey, and it's been fun to be a part of," Bobrovsky said.
With the Panthers outscoring their opponents 34-15 through the first eight games of the season, Huberdeau leads the team in scoring with 10 points (three goals, seven assists), Barkov sits in second with nine (four goals, five assists), and four other players are tied for third with seven.
One of the deepest teams in the league, 11 different Panthers have tallied at least five points.
However, possibly even more impressive than that work on offensive side of the puck, has been the team's execution on the penalty kill as of late. Tied for seventh in the league with an 89.7% success rate, the Panthers have gone 19-for-20 on the penalty kill over their last six contests.
"It's been great," Weegar said of the team's shorthanded excellence. "We're all on the same page. We know where our points are and when to pressure, when to not pressure. Bob has been our best killer back there. Having him play his game right now, he's been solid for us."
With the Panthers not skating this morning in Boston, exact details on tonight's lineup won't be known until Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette speaks to the media at 4:45 p.m. With that being said, there are a few important things to keep a close eye on heading into the matchup.
Given the nature of back-to-backs, there's a chance that rookie goaltender Spencer Knight will give Bobrovsky a night off and get the nod in net. In what would be a fun homecoming, Knight, who grew up in Darien, Connecticut, played two seasons at Boston College before turning pro.
In two starts this season, the 20-year-old rookie has gone 2-0-0 on top of a 2.01 goals-against average and .923 save percentage. Dating back to his debut late last season, he owns a 6-0-0 career record, which is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak to start a career in NHL history.
On the injury front, rookie center Anton Lundell (upper body) has yet to return to the ice as of Friday's morning skate, while second-line center Sam Bennett missed the end of yesterday's win after crashing into Detroit's net and then taking a spill along the end boards. Additionally, defenseman Kevin Connauton was a game-time decision yesterday, but ended up sitting out.
Looking across the ice at the opposition, the Bruins enter tonight's matchup sitting at 3-3-0 on the season after dropping each of their last two games. After losing 4-1 against the Panthers in Sunrise on Wednesday, they were then shut out by the Hurricanes 3-0 in Raleigh on Thursday.
In that aforementioned meeting in South Florida, Charlie Coyle scored the lone goal for Boston, while Luostarinen, Mason Marchment, Anthony Duclair and Owen Tippett scored for the Cats.
"It's a couple games in a row we haven't been able to generate much," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said of the mini-slump after the loss to Carolina. "Obviously, we've got to look at that."
Averaging just 2.50 goals per game through six games, Brad Marchand leads Boston in scoring with seven points (four goals, three assists). After him, David Pastrnak is second with five points (two goals, three assists), while Coyle ranks third with four points (two goals, two assists).
In net, Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have each started three games. Ullmark is 2-1-0 with a .920 save percentage, while Swayman has gone 1-2-0 with a .893 save percentage. After Swayman started Boston's first two games, Ullmark has gotten the nod in three of the last four.
Dating back to last season, the Panthers have won 14 straight regular-season games.
Prior to tonight's game, the Bruins and Panthers will both honor and remember the late NHL alumni Jimmy Hayes, who played for both teams during his career, with a moment of silence.
During warmups, each team will also wear special jerseys with two of Hayes' nicknames -- "HAYESY" and "BROADWAY" -- on the back. Both of these jerseys will then be available for auction after the game, with funds benefitting a charity to be determined by the Hayes family.
To bid on the jerseys. visit the links below.
www.FlaPanthers.givesmart.com
www.BruinsAuctions.com
PANTHERS NOTES
- Jonathan Huberdeau is expected to skate in his 600th NHL game tonight.
- Aaron Ekblad has recorded at least one point in six of eight games for the Panthers, amassing three goals and four assists in that span. He also leads the team with an average of 25:31 of ice time per game, including skating a season-high 29:19 during Friday's overtime win at Detroit.
- Sam Reinhart has earned at least one point in five of his last six games.
- Eetu Luostarinen has scored goals in each of the last two games.
- Anthony Duclair leads the Panthers with five goals.
- MacKenzie Weegar leads Florida in both blocked shots (14) and takeaways (10).
- Gustav Forsling is tied for the team-lead on the Panthers with seven assists. -
Mason Marchment has recorded five points (one goal, four assists) in six games this season.
- Joe Thornton is two points shy of passing Paul Coffey for 13th-place on the NHL's all-time list.
PANTHERS LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
With no morning skate, following @JamesonCoop on Twitter for lineup updates. REC
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Oct. 21: D Chase Priskie was recalled from Charlotte (AHL).
- Oct. 20: D Olli Juolevi was placed on IR.
RECENT ARTICLES / PODCASTS
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Friday, Oct. 30 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where:TD Garden - Boston, MA
TV:Bally Sports Florida
Stream: Bally Sports App, ESPN+ (Out of Region)
Radio: 99.9 WKIS-HD2 (Dade/Broward); 850 WFTL (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932
