SUNRISE, Fla. – The wait is finally over.
A little more than five months after meeting in the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers will have revenge on their minds when they host the Vegas Golden Knights in the final game before the Christmas break at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
“It’s the team that ruined our summer,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “It’ll be very hard for guys not to get up, I think almost impossible. We’re all going to be as fast and as physical as we can. There’s some bad blood there, so we’re excited.”
For every player that was there, the memory is still fresh.
With the battered and bruised Panthers giving it everything they had during their incredible run to the Stanley Cup Final, the Knights won the series in five games.
“It’s been a while, but we remember how it ended up,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “We’re going to be ready. We’re not happy with the way we played the last few games, but we’re going to get back to our game and going to be ready."
Off to a strong start with a record of 18-12-2, the Panthers are looking to snap out of their first real dip of the season. Losing four of their last five games, they enter this afternoon’s matinee matchup on the heels of a 4-1 loss to the Blues on Thursday.
After a scoreless first period, the Blues found the back of the net three times in the second period, while Eetu Luostarinen scored the lone goal for Florida. In the third period, Pavel Buchnevich cashed in on the empty net to lock down the 4-1 win with his second goal of the game.
In the loss, the Panthers led 75-37 in shot attempts.
“Did [St. Louis] have a lot of chances? No. But the ones they had were so big that it’s not equal,” said Cats coach Paul Maurice, who noted the disparity in odd-man rushes. “The number doesn’t matter. The quality’s different. We gave up a bunch of them.”
After missing the last four games due to an illness, the Panthers could get a boost if third-line center Anton Lundell is able to return against Vegas. The 22-year-old was a full participant in Friday’s practice and “should be” good to go, according to Maurice.
More information will be known when Maurice speaks to the media at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals (18), assists (21) and points (39). Barkov is second in scoring with 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists). Always bringing his “A” game against the Knights, Barkov has tallied five goals in nine career games against Vegas.
Between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky has gone 14-9-1 with a .909 save percentage. Backing him up, Anthony Stolarz is sitting at 4-3-1 with a .915 save percentage. In his career against the Knights, Bobrovsky has split his six starts, posting a 3-3-0 record.
To bounce back this afternoon, the Panthers know they have to be physical.
“I think we just have go out and play as hard as we can for 60-plus minutes,” Tkachuk said. “Looking back to last year and parts of this year when we’re successful we’re playing in your face and finishing every check. We’ve gotten away from that a little bit.”
Leading the Pacific Division at 21-8-5, Vegas is also in the midst of its first rough patch. Losing three of their last four games, the Knights suffered a 5-4 loss at Tampa Bay in their last outing on Thursday. Just before that, they dropped a 6-3 game at Carolina.
Over their last four games, they’ve surrendered at least five goals three times.
But even with that hiccup, they still rank among the NHL’s best on defense.
While the Panthers boast the fourth-ranked defense with an average of 2.63 goals allowed per game, the Knights aren’t far behind in sixth with an average of 2.68.
Jack Eichel leads Vegas in scoring with 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists), while Mark Stone sits in second with 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists). Jonathan Marchessault, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy last year, leads the team with 17 goals.
In net, the Knights are a little banged up.
Their top-two goaltenders, Adin Hill and Logan Thompson, were both unavailable against the Lightning. Thompson left Tuesday’s loss at Carolina with an upper-body injury, while Hill has missed several games in December due to a lower-body injury.
If neither can play against Florida, third-stringer Jiri Patera will likely get the nod.
"We've got some untested goaltenders going in there, we've got play well in front of them," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "For us, every team goes through different parts of the year where you get tested. That's what we're doing right now."
During the 2022-23 regular season, the Panthers went 1-1-0 against the Knights.
“We think about us – how we play, how we compete,” Barkov said. “We haven’t been at our best or played the best hockey we can play. It all starts with the work ethic and how you hard. Effort is there. Everyone is trying, but everyone has to try a little harder.”
PREGAME QUOTES
“First of all, we’re not playing great hockey right now, losing four of the last five. It doesn’t matter who we play. We’re going to come out and play as good as we can and as hard as we can. Win or lose, we just need to get back to playing a hard game.” – Matthew Tkachuk
“Stick together. That’s always what it is going to be. We are a team first. Things like this are going to happen. … Playing a good, strong, hard game from the beginning is something that’s an identity for our team.” – Aaron Ekblad
“It’s a big game. The last game before Christmas, so we’re going to go all in. We just have to get ready for the game.” – Eetu Luostarinen
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers are 8-for-8 on the penalty kill over their last three games.
- Matthew Tkachuk has scored nine goals in 14 career games vs. Vegas.
- Sam Reinhart is tied for third in the NHL with eight power-play goals.
- Niko Mikkola leads Florida with 57 blocked shots.
- The Panthers own a 12-0-2 record when scoring first this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Stenlund – Will Lockwood
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Dec. 16: F Will Lockwood recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 15: Uvis Balinskis loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 7: F Josh Davies signed to a three-year, entry-level contract
HOW TO WATCH
When: Saturday, Dec. 2 at 3 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 91 / App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Here
