SUNRISE, Fla. – Facing off for the first time since the Eastern Conference Final, the Florida Panthers will host the Carolina Hurricanes for a rematch at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday.
With all four games being decided by just one goal, the Panthers swept the Hurricanes in the tooth-and-nail series. In the decisive Game 4 in Sunrise, Matthew Tkachuk scored the game-winning goal with 4.9 seconds left in regulation to send the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final.
Even though several months have passed, the Panthers know the Hurricanes haven’t forgotten.
“They’re probably feeling the exact same way we’re going to feel when we play Vegas, the team that knocked you out, the team that ended your season,” Tkachuk said following this morning’s skate. “The way we did it to Carolina, doing it in four games, there’s probably going to be a little extra sour over there. The personnel is a little bit different, but I know that they’re a passionate team and they’re going to come out flying, physical and start playing how they normally play.”
Scratching and clawing to pick up some key early-season points while they await the return of key players from injury, the Panthers are riding high after back-to-back victories in overtime.
Erasing a third-period deficit in both games, the Panthers followed up a 5-4 overtime win against the Blue Jackets on Monday with an equally thrilling 4-3 overtime win at Washington on Wednesday.
Leading the Capitals 2-1 after the first period on goals from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Aleksander Barkov, the Panthers fell behind after Connor McMichael and Anthony Mantha answered with goals for Washington in the second period to make it 3-2 after 40 minutes.
In the third period, Evan Rodrigues tapped in a perfect pass from Gustav Forsling to make it 3-3 and force overtime, where Sam Reinhart would need just 15 seconds to win it for the Panthers.
His team-leading ninth goal of the season, Reinhart’s winner, which was set up by a great pass from Barkov off the wall to spring him loose, was the fastest overtime goal in franchise history.
With the win, the Panthers improved to 7-4-1.
“It doesn’t matter how you win, but of course we want to improve ourselves and our game from game to game,” forward Anton Lundell said. “We know there’s stuff we can do better. It shows a good thing about the team that we can turn games where we’re at a disadvantage and win.”
In terms of lineup changes for the Panthers, Uvis Balinskis will return to the blue line in place of Mike Reilly, who suited up the last two games. In 10 games this season, Balinskis, who is in first season in the NHL after starring in the Czech league, has amassed 13 hits and seven blocked shots.
Sergei Bobrovsky, who looked like a superhero while stopping 168 of 174 shots (.966%) against Carolina during last year’s Eastern Conference Final, will get the nod in net the for the Panthers.
After enduring a three-game losing streak from Oct. 19-24, the Hurricanes have won five of their last six games, including a 3-2 win in overtime against the Sabres in their last game on Tuesday.
Tony DeAngelo and Brady Skjei each scored against Buffalo in regulation, while Martin Necas locked in the second point with the game-winning goal in the extra frame. Tied for second on the Hurricanes with five goals, Necas has already notched two goals in overtime this season.
With starting goaltender Frederik Andersen out indefinitely due to blood clotting, backup Antti Raanta has been between the pipes in each of the last two games for Carolina. In six games so far this season, Raanta has posted a 4-1-1 record despite a suboptimal .877 save percentage.
With the Hurricanes sitting at 8-5-0 and likely some bad blood left over from last year's playoffs, the Panthers know they’re in for a tough test tonight.
“This is going to be an incredibly physical game,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “They’ve added some players in their lineup, I think as a result of the playoff series, to be more physical. I expected it from Toronto and from Boston, but I think this is the game that’s going to be very hard. It’ll get angry quick."
PREGAME QUOTES
“The game that we had to play against Carolina was so much different than the game we had to play against Toronto. Four periods after regulation ends, and we’re still pretty good. That was the thing that as a coach -- winning it, for sure, it’s a conference championship -- but winning a four-overtime game in the playoffs is something you get to carry with you. I’ll never forget that one.” – Paul Maurice on his memories from the Eastern Conference Final
“I think the last couple years have taught us a lot, including the playoffs last year. We learned how to be comfortable in close situations and just believe that we’re going to get the next goal when new play together and believe in what we do.” – Anton Lundell on the Panthers winning lots of tight games early on this season
“I don’t know how many 2-1 or 3-1 or 3-2 games we’ve been in this year, but I think it’s carried over a little bit. We’re comfortable with that. We don’t need to score four or five goals to win a game. We’re comfortable keeping it low scoring. We’re very comfortable in those tight games. I think a lot of that was learned in the playoffs.” – Matthew Tkachuk on the Panthers finding ways to win low-scoring games
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers have won five of their last seven regular-season meetings with Carolina.
- Aleksander Barkov has logged 32 points in 33 career games against the Hurricanes.
- The Panthers have posted a 4-1-0 record at Amerant Bank Arena this season.
- Florida has yet to lose in regulation to an Eastern Conference opponent this season.
- Evan Rodrigues leads the Panthers with a +10 plus/minus rating.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Anton Lundell – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Kevin Stenlund – Nick Cousins
Ryan Lomberg – Steven Lorentz – Will Lockwood
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura – Uvis Balinskis
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Nov. 7: F Jonah Gadjovich loaned to Charlotte (AHL) on conditioning assignment
- Nov. 2: F Rasmus Asplund recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Oct. 27: F Mackie Samoskevich loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH
When: Friday, Nov. 10 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 App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Here
