SUNRISE, Fla. – In their first game back from the holiday break, the Florida Panthers will host the Montreal Canadiens for a matinee matchup at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
Puck drop for the game is slated for 1 p.m. ET.
“We just had our one practice, and now we’re back in a game,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “We have no pregame skate [today]. It’s just get up and play. I love those games. I wish we had more. I think it’s just playing against a team that’s young, hungry and skilled.”
Leading the Atlantic Division at 22-12-2, the Panthers were picking up steam heading into the break, posting a 10-3-1 record over their last 14 games while leading 50-36 in goals.
Getting back to work, the goal is to pick up right where they left off.
“We’ve had a pretty good start to the year,” forward Evan Rodrigues said. “We’ve continued to build as the year has gone on. We’ve gone through ups and downs, but we’ve continued to bounce back whenever we’ve hit a little lull. It’s a long season. Those things are going to happen. Just keep our focus, stay positive and harp on the things that make us successful.”
After suffering an upper-body injury in the final game before the break, defenseman Niko Mikkola will not suit up against the Canadiens and is considered day-to-day. In his place, Adam Boqvist will return to the blue line. In 13 games, Boqvist has tallied four points (two goals, two assists).
Also getting back into the lineup, Jesper Boqvist, Adam’s brother, will also be back in action after missing the final three games before the break with an upper-body injury. Sliding right back into his spot on the third line, the speedy forward has recorded 11 points sand 74 hits.
Between the pipes, Spencer Knight will get the nod.
Owning a 6-5-1 record with a .891 save percentage, Knight looked stellar in his final start before the break, stopping 19 of 21 shots in a 4-2 win at Tampa Bay on Dec. 22. Facing the Canadiens once in his career, he made 28 saves in a winning effort on March 24, 2022.
Looking to keep building up their home-ice advantage, the Panthers are 10-6-1 in Sunrise.
After spending much of the season the road, they’ll play their next four games at home.
“With it being around Christmas and around New Year, there’s a lot of family visiting,” Tkachuk said. “There’s just a lot of buzz around Lauderdale at this time of the year. It’s always fun to play. It’s always fun just to be in the city. There’s a good buzz around us and a good buzz around hockey. It’s important to play these games at home and take care of home ice. Hopefully we can do that over these next few games.”
Despite their 14-17-3, the Canadiens certainly can’t be taken lightly.
Going 6-4-0 over their last 10 games, they’ve led 32-30 in goals in that stretch.
Nick Suzuki leads Montreal in scoring with 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists), while Cole Caufield is second with 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists). In the hunt for the Calder Trophy, rookie Lane Hutson leads the team’s defensemen with 26 points (two goals, 24 assists).
In his first season with the Canadiens, Patrik Laine has scored eight goals in 10 games.
Turning to a rookie between the pipes, Jakub Dobes will start for Montreal.
Called up from the AHL on Friday, the 23-year-old has posted a 9-3-1 record with .910 save percentage in 14 appearances with the Laval Rocket this season. A fifth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, the large goaltender measures up at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds in the cage.
"They've built their team on skill," head coach Paul Maurice said of the Canadiens. "They've got two and a half, three lines of very, very skilled players. Their fourth line has 24 goals, which is highly unusual. They've got three guys in the back end that will be moving up the ice. It doesn't matter their age. If you give them room to do that, they're going to do that."
Meeting for the first time this season, Florida went 3-1-0 against Montreal in 2023-24.
THEY SAID IT
“It was huge. It seems like we’ve been on the road and traveling a lot, more than the past years. It was good to get a break and recharge a little bit. We want to have a nice push here up until the 4 Nations [in February].” – Evan Rodrigues on the holiday break
“It was nice. It was nice to spend it with some family. It helps you recharge. The second half is basically here now. It kind of recharges you for the next little stretch of games.” – Matthew Tkachuk on the holiday break
FIVE CATS STATS
- Aleksander Barkov has scored 25 goals in 35 career games against Montreal.
- The Panthers lead the NHL with 1,025 hits.
- Sam Reinhart has tallied six points (3G, 3A) over his last five games.
- Jesper Boqvist ranks second on the Panthers with five first-period goals.
- Mackie Samoskevich leads Florida with four game-winning goals.
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 – Mackie Samoskevich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Uvis Balinskis – Dmitry Kulikov
Nate Schmidt – Adam Boqvist
Goaltenders
Spencer Knight
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Dec. 23: F Rasmus Asplund loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 22: F Rasmus Asplund recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, Dec. 28 at 1 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: 96.5 WPOW-FM HD-2 (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT-AM & 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM Channel 219 / App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click Here
