"We're excited and ready to go," Brunette said. "It's a big challenge tonight."
Based on what we saw during this morning's skate, Giroux will be lining up on the right side of the first line alongside Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe. On the blue line, Chiarot will be on the top pairing with MacKenzie Weegar, while Hagg will team up with Brandon Montour.
"We just want them to be themselves and play hockey," Brunette said.
The biggest fish reeled in by any team at the deadline, Giroux arrived to South Florida with 900 points (291 goals, 609 assists) over 1,000 career games with the Flyers. Now preparing to play his first game with the Panthers, he admits that he's got a healthy mix of nerves and excitement.
"It's something I've never done before, so it's a little nerve-wracking," said Giroux, who'd tallied 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists) in 57 games this season before the trade went down. "I'm very excited. The practices have been high tempo. The guys are fast. We're having fun out there."
As for Hagg and Chiarot, the two D-men are expected to bring a physical presence to the blue line. As a former top-pairing player with Montreal, Chiarot in particular will be counted on to play big minutes in the absence of Aaron Ekblad, who will miss some time with a lower-body injury.
Due to immigration paperwork that kept him in Canada, Chiarot skated with the Panthers for the first time this morning. And, oddly enough, his first game will be against his former team. In 54 games with the Canadiens prior to the trade, he'd registered 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists).
"The skillset and how he plays fits exactly our needs," Brunette said of Chiarot, who stands 6-foot-3 and 234 pounds. "This is always a tricky time. There's a little bit of an easing in process that we have here with [the new guys]. We'll try to get him up to speed as quick as possible."
With these new players getting into the mix, the Panthers will look to continue their strong play on the road as of late. In first place in the Atlantic Division at 42-14-6, they've gone 7-1-1 over their last nine road games, including a 3-0 victory at Anaheim in their last outing on March 18.
Stopping all 17 shots he saw against the Ducks to record the first shutout of his NHL career, Spencer Knight will get the nod again in Montreal. Starting each of the last four games -- all on the road -- the rookie goaltender has gone 2-1-1 with a .929 save percentage in that stretch.
"He's earned it, especially pitching a shutout the other night," Brunette said of Knight, who owns a 12-7-3 record on the season. "He had a great trip, so I think he earned another start tonight."
Sitting at 17-36-10 and in the cellar of the Atlantic Division, the Canadiens have dropped five of their last seven games, including a 3-2 overtime loss against the Bruins on Monday. During that seven-game slump, they've actually played some tight games while only being outscored 25-23.
Led by a youth movement up front, Nick Suzuki paces Montreal in goals (17), assists (29) and points (46), while Cole Caufield resides second in scoring with 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists).
Splitting duties in net Sam Montembeault is 7-13-5 with a .894 save percentage, while Jake Allen, who has started each of the last three games, is 6-16-4 with a .905 save percentage.
Facing off for the second time this season, the Panthers secured a 5-2 win over the Canadiens in their first head-to-head battle on Jan. 1 at FLA Live Arena. Sam Bennett tallied two goals and Jonathan Huberdeau had three assists to fuel Florida's top-ranked offense during the victory.
With three new players on the ice this time around, the Panthers expect to keep on rolling.
"It's exciting," Huberdeau said of the team's deadline additions. "We're really excited to get going. We have 20 games to get kind of gelled together. I think we'll have no problem. We have a good team and great character in the room. Just welcome them in. They're great people."
