CALGARY – It’ll be a heated battle of two teams looking to bounce back when the Florida Panthers visit the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.
Tied for the most points in the Atlantic Division at 18-10-2, the Panthers enter the matchup after being blanked by the Vancouver Canucks in a 4-0 loss at Rogers Arena on Thursday.
Also not having a great time on Thursday, the Flames, who sit in fifth place in the Pacific Division at 14-11-5, were the victim of an 8-3 beatdown against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
With that, both teams will want to re-establish their games early tonight.
“I don’t think we’re really looking at them too much,” forward Sam Bennett said. “We’re more worried about our game. We obviously had a tough one the last game. We’re going to come out hard. Obviously, we’re a good forechecking team. We’re at our best when we’re physical and on the forecheck, so that’s what we’re going to look to do tonight.”
Seeing a familiar face, Ryan Lomberg will take the ice for the Flames.
A member of the first free agent class signed under President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Zito, Lomberg appeared in 246 games over four seasons with the Panthers.
On Friday, he received his Stanley Cup ring during a dinner with his former teammates.
“You want to reminisce and chat about the good old times,” Lomberg said. “You want to get in the loop of who they’re chirping now and stuff like that. It was great catching up with them. It was just as amazing as I thought it’d be.”
Owning a 6-1-1 record over their last eight games, the Panthers have looked solid at both ends of the ice during that stretch. In addition to averaging four goals per game during the stretch – even after being shut out in Vancouver – they’ve allowed just 2.50 goals per tilt.
Over the eight games, Matthew Tkachuk has recorded a team-high 15 points (eight goals, five assists), while Aleksander Barkov has logged 10 points (five goals, five assists). Also chipping in up front, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart have each tallied eight points.
Between the pipes, Spencer Knight will get the start against the Flames.
Head coach Paul Maurice also said there could be other lineup changes, but nothing was set in stone this morning.
Dropping seven of their last nine games, the Flames have struggled to keep the puck out of their own net during that 2-5-2 stretch while allowing a league-worst 4.22 goals per game.
Jonathan Huberdeau leads Calgary in scoring with 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists), including nine points (four goals, five assists) during his current six-game point streak.
Looking up at Huberdeau on the team’s scoring leaderboard, Nazem Kadri (19), Connor Zary (16), MacKenzie Weegar (16) and Rasmus Andersson have also hit the 15-point mark.
Owning an 8-5-1 record with a .909 save percentage, Dustin Wolf is likely to get the start for the Flames after Dan Vladar surrendered eight goals on 26 shots against the Lightning.
Two physical teams that like to play with an edge, the Panthers rank second in the NHL in hits (836), while the Flames are fifth in blocked shots (505). Additionally, both hard-nosed squads rank among the top eight teams in the NHL in terms of total penalty minutes.
With that, Maurice expects no easy ice tonight.
“Our expectation is that Calgary will play a game similar to Vancouver,” the Panthers bench boss said. “Based on what I’ve read and their experience with Tampa, they’re going to grind this one and put a lot of effort into defending. I think Vancouver did that well against us.”
Never an easy place to play, the Panthers are 7-10-1-3 in their history at Calgary.
“It’s been tough for our team the past few years since I’ve been here, and even going back to my time here,” Tkachuk said. “It’s been a little while. Hopefully we can get a win tonight. We’ve only got one goal in our last two games. We’ve got to get the net.”
THEY SAID IT
“He’s incredible. His energy is amazing. The best part about him is the stuff that nobody gets to see except the other guys in the room. He was a very crucial part for us winning last year.” – Matthew Tkachuk on Ryan Lomberg
“He’s great. His energy that he brings is like no other teammate I’ve ever played with. His positivity on the bench and in the locker room is actually really needed on teams. People have already told me on Calgary that he’s been great at being so vocal.” – Sam Bennett on Ryan Lomberg
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers own a 9-5-1 record on the road.
- The Panthers lead the NHL with seven shorthanded goals.
- Sam Reinhart has tallied five points (1G, 4A) over his last four games.
- Aaron Ekblad has posted a team-high 42 blocked shots.
- The Panthers are 12-0-0 when leading after two periods.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Jesper Boqvist – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Mackie Samoskevich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis
Goaltenders
Spencer Knight
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Dec. 6: G Chris Driedger loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 6: F Mackie Samoskevich recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, Dec. 14 at 10 p.m. ET
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome – Calgary, AB
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT-AM & 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Cats on Tap: Click to View Participating Bars & Restaurants
