SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will look to get their game back up to speed when they host the Washington Capitals at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.
In second place in the Atlantic Division at 31-15-4, the Panthers are poised to rebound after returning from the All-Star break with a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
Starting fast then slowing down in that defeat, the Cats expect to play a full 60 minutes tonight.
“I thought we were a little slow, a little sluggish,” Panthers forward Sam Bennett said. “I guess that can sometimes be expected, but we know we have to be a lot quicker, a lot sharper tonight. We’ve focused on that. That’s going to be an emphasis tonight.”
Leading 1-0 after the first period on a power-play goal from Carter Verhaeghe, the Panthers just didn't generate enough against the Flyers after that. Keeping the team in striking distance, Anthony Stolarz turned aside 23 of 25 shots between the pipes.
While a good amount of rust for any team is expected after a weeklong break, the Panthers plan to use tonight’s game to measure if that loss to Philadelphia was something or nothing.
“We manufactured something to learn from that game, but I’m not worried about it.” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “Tonight’s game makes that one real and a problem and the start of potentially something we’ve got to address or it’s the first game back after seven days and we’ll never think about it again. It’ll be based on the effort.”
Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals (37) and points (62), with an NHL-leading 20 of those goals coming on the power play. Verhaeghe, who is on pace for his second straight 40-goal campaign, ranks second in goals (25) and tied for second in points (51).
After backing up Stolarz against the Flyers, Sergei Bobrovsky will return to the crease and make his first start since last weekend’s All-Star Game in Toronto. In 36 games this season, the 35-year-old veteran owns a 23-10-2 record with a .910 save percentage.
Over his last two starts, Bobrovsky has gone 2-0-0 with a .943 save percentage.
Sitting at 22-19-7, the Capitals have dropped each of their last five games, including a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in their first game back from the break on Tuesday.
After the Canadiens raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first 13:07 of the first period, the Capitals pulled goaltender Charlie Lindgren. Alex Ovechkin and Rasmus Sandin each lit the lamp for Washington, while Darcy Kuemper stopped 15 of 17 shots in relief.
At the time of this writing, Washington has not named a starting goaltender for tonight's tilt.
During their five-game skid, the Capitals have been outscored 24-11.
When looking at the Capitals, one of the most-surprising things this season might be the disappearance of their power play. Operating at over 20% last season, they’re currently scoring on just 14.2% of their trips to the man advantage through 48 games in 2023-24.
One reason for this dip – other than missing key players like Evgeny Kuznetsov (IR) and Nicklas Backstrom (IR) – has been Ovechkin seemingly showing his age a bit. At 38, the “Great 8” has scored just 10 goals this season after putting up 42 just a year ago.
Of Washington’s 19 power-play goals this season, just four have come from Ovechkin.
That being said, the Panthers certainly won’t take one of the NHL's all-time great scorers lightly.
“We’ll assume the shot is on,” Maurice said of the threat Ovechkin poses. “There are places on the ice that we can’t allow him time to get to. You do have to be a disciplined hockey team and stay out of the box because the shot is still there. It’s all about speed. There are a handful of highly unique guys around the league. … You have to be aware of them.”
Dylan Strome leads the Capitals in goals (19) and points (33), while John Carlson has logged the most assists (26) and leads the team in ice time per game (25:36). Ovechkin is second in scoring with 32 points, but also ranks last on the team with a -16 plus/minus rating.
The second of three meetings between the Panthers and Capitals this season, the Panthers topped the Capitals by a score of 4-3 in overtime back on Nov. 8 at Capital One Arena.
Aleksander Barkov, Evan Rodrigues and Oliver Ekman-Larsson also posted a goal and an assist in that win, while Reinhart’s game-winning goal just 15 seconds into overtime established a new record for the fastest overtime goal in franchise history.
“We’ve played them once already and know they have some good scorers on their team,” Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov said. “I think, for us, nothing changes. Just play the way we play.”
PREGAME QUOTES
“We just have to be good at what we’re good at. Some nights the things that you’re all right at don’t get you over the hump. We didn’t move the puck particularly well [against Philadelphia]. We were trying to change the flow of the game on a play. That’s a bad mindset. You need to change the flow of the play on some patience and some physicality.” – Paul Maurice
“[Carter Verhaeghe’s] release is one of the best in the league. He’s able to find those holes and get that shot off. He’s a lot of fun to play with. He makes a lot of really good plays. Whenever you find him, there’s a good chance it’s going in the back of the net.” – Sam Bennett
FIVE CATS STATS
- Aleksander Barkov has earned a point in his last 11 games vs. Washington.
- The Panthers have converted on 32.7% of their power plays at home in 2023-24.
- Sam Reinhart has scored a team-leading 16 goals on home ice this season.
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson has posted two goals and two assists over his last six games.
- With 229 assists entering tonight’s matchup, Aaron Ekblad needs to post just one more to surpass Robert Svehla for the most by a defenseman in franchise history.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Jan. 29: F Mackie Samoskevich loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH
When: Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Channel 219; App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Here
