SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will try to push their winning streak to a season-long seven games when they host the Philadelphia Flyers at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
Sitting at 10-3-1, the Panthers have outscored their opponents 30-14 during their streak.
“It’s been going well the last little bit,” said forward Matthew Tkachuk, who will skate in his 600th NHL game tonight. “The team’s been playing great even before I came back in the lineup. It’s just been fun the last however many games. Winning whatever it is, six in a row now, is obviously great. We just want to keep that going tonight.”
Getting off to a red-hot start in their defense of the Stanley Cup, the Panthers have earned points in 10 of their last 11 games, going 9-1-1 to capture first place in the Atlantic Division.
Keeping their streak alive, the Panthers filled up the back of the net in a 6-2 beatdown of the struggling Nashville Predators on Thursday. Spreading out the offense, five different players touched twine in the win, with Carter Verhaeghe leading the way up front with two goals.
Extending his goal streak to five games – tied for the longest in the NHL this season – Sam Reinhart opened the scoring against Nashville with his team-high 11 goal of the season. Tied for fifth in the league in scoring with 22 points, he’s also on a six-game point streak.
In addition to Reinhart, five other players have been producing at least a point-per-game during the winning streak, including Aleksander Barkov (10 points), Verhaeghe (seven points), Tkachuk (seven points), Sam Bennett (six points) and Anton Lundell (six points).
With a pair of power-play goals against the Predators – including a career-first for Tomas Nosek – the Panthers capitalized with the man advantage for the fifth straight game. With both of their units clicking, Florida ranks sixth in the league on the power play at 26.2%.
In for a tough test, the Flyers boast the third-ranked penalty kill in the NHL at 89.4%.
“It’s a lot of just read and react,” Tkachuk said of the power play. “Players can play any position on the power play. You could be a half-wall guy and end up net front. You could be net front and end up running up top. It’s really interchangeable.”
Sitting at 7-2-1, Sergei Bobrovsky will get the nod in net against Philadelphia.
Out since Oct. 17 with an injury, Jonah Gadjovich will return to the lineup and slot in on the fourth line against the Flyers. As a corresponding move, rookie Mackie Samoskevich will get a breather after posting four points (two goals, two assists) in 14 games to start the season.
“He’s starting to get more and more consistent with what he does,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Samoskevich’s development. “That’s the key piece. … He’s actually maybe a little ahead of where I thought he’d be at this time. I’m very happy with it. There are different styles. Philly is going to be a heavy game, and Jonah has worked hard to get back.”
After enduring a six-game losing streak in October, the Flyers have started to find their footing. Going a respectable 3-3-0 over their last six games, they’ve been particularly strong on defense in that stretch, surrendering one or fewer goals in all three of their victories.
Taking care of business on the other side of the Sunshine State, the Flyers enter tonight’s matchup riding high after a 2-1 shootout win at Tampa Bay on Thursday. In the cage, Ivan Fedotov stopped 22 of 23 shots for Philadelphia to earn the first win of his NHL career.
Travis Konecny leads the Flyers in scoring with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists). In second, rookie Matvei Michkov has logged 10 points (four goal, six assists). Still just 19 years old, the former seventh-overall pick was a healthy scratch against the Lightning.
With starter Samuel Ersson dealing with a lower-body injury, Fedotov could possibly return to the crease against the Panthers. If the Flyers opt to go in a different direction, Aleksei Kolosov, who’s started two of the last three games, could also be an option between the pipes.
In order to get the two points tonight, it’ll start with defense for the Panthers.
“We have a big focus on playing defense and defense-first and how that leads to the rest of our game,” Tkachuk said. “It’s really amazing how when we buckle down defensively we really seem to score more. That’s kind of been how it’s gone the last little bit. We’re playing an opponent tonight that defends really hard, played us really well the last little bit. It’s always a hard game against them, a physical game with not much ice out there.”
THEY SAID IT
“It’s crazy. I don’t even feel like I’m even close to hitting my prime yet. I’m at 600 [games] right now and it’s just flying by. I’m 26 years old. For me to hit this at this age I think is a very cool accomplishment. It just makes you reflect when you hit something like how fast time has gone and how many great players I’ve been able to play with.” – Matthew Tkachuk
"We don't care if we win 2-1 or 5-1. We just like the 1." – Paul Maurice
FIVE CATS STATS
- Matthew Tkachuk has tallied 14 points (5G, 9A) in 15 career games vs. Philadelphia.
- Sam Bennett is one point away from his 300th NHL point.
- Aleksander Barkov has posted at least three points in two of his last three games.
- Evan Rodrigues has lit the lamp in three straight games.
- The Panthers rank seventh in the NHL with a 52.57 CF% 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 – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Nov. 4: Signed F Gracyn Sawchyn to an entry-level contract
- Nov. 1: F Patrick Giles loaned to AHL Charlotte
- Oct. 25: Singed F Hunter St. Martin to an entry-level contract
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT-AM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM Channel 219 / App & Streaming 931
Theme Night: Military Appreciation Night
Tickets: Click Here
