Sitting at 16-18-4 and looking to turn things around heading into the second half of the season, the Panthers enter tonight's tilt on the heels of a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday. After falling behind 2-0, the Panthers clawed their way back to within one goal on three separate occasions as Nick Cousins, Sam Bennett and Eric Staal all scored.
Getting better as the game rolled along, they limited the Rangers to just 12 shots on goal over the second and third periods. Taking a closer look at the second and third periods, Florida also led 31-16 in shot attempts, 17-7 in scoring chances and 7-3 in high-danger shot attempts at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Looking at back those two periods, the Panthers believe there's a recipe for success.
"The last two periods against the New York Rangers were decidedly different than any other hockey we've played all year," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said with confidence.
After veteran Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots against the Rangers, youngster Spencer Knight is expected to man the crease against the Coyotes. In 17 appearances this season, the 21-year-old goalie has posted an 8-6-3 record with a .907 save percentage and one shutout.
Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers in scoring with 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists), while Carter Verhaeghe has scored the most goals with 18. Fourth in scoring after missing time due to injuries and an illness, Aleksander Barkov has accumulated 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists).
Facing off for the second and final time this season, the Panthers suffered a 3-1 loss on the road in their first meeting with the Coyotes of 2022-23 back on Nov. 1. After Colin White put the Panthers up 1-0, the Coyotes scored three straight goals to lock down the win in their own barn.
Earning first-star honors, Karel Vejmelka stopped 41 of 42 shots for Arizona.
"I think we just have to shoot the puck a lot," Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen said. "We have a lot of scoring chances, so we just have to bury those pucks."
Sitting at 13-17-5, the Coyotes have been playing some improved hockey as of late. Winning six of their last 11 games, they enter tonight's matchup on the heels of a 5-3 loss at Tampa Bay on Saturday, but had beaten the Kings (2-1, SO), Avalanche (6-3) and Maple Leafs (6-3) before that.
In those three wins, they outscored the opposition 14-7.
"They've got good goaltending and they play hard defensively," Maurice said of Arizona. "Interestingly, they move the puck around with some high skill on the power play. They play a pretty consistent game and they've beat good teams. That's the game we expect."
Clayton Keller leads the Coyotes in scoring with 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists), while Lawson Crouse, a first-round pick of the Panthers in 2015, leads the team in goals with 14. Earning the bulk of the starts this season, Vejmelka owns a 11-10-4 record with a .907 save percentage.
For the Panthers, a win tonight would set the stage nicely to go on a run on the road.
"We all believe in the guys we have in the room," Reinhart said. "Now that we have some guys healthy and we've got some bodies back in the lineup, it's time for us to really show that belief and start executing a little bit more. Tonight's a good opportunity to get this going in the right direction."
