SUNRISE, Fla. - Opening up the 2023 portion of their schedule, the Florida Panthers will host the New York Rangers for an important Eastern Conference tilt at FLA Live Arena on Sunday.
After returning from the break with a big 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, the Panthers were limited to a season-low 19 shots on goal during a 4-0 loss at Carolina on Friday.
PREVIEW: Panthers look to 'come out ready' against Rangers
Falling to 16-17-4 in the standings, the Panthers struggled find success on both sides of the special teams battle against the Hurricanes. In addition to coming up empty on all six of their chances on the power play, they also surrendered three goals on the penalty kill to Carolina.
"Obviously we didn't have the best night last night, so we want to improve that," Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling said. "At 5-on-5 I think we played good, but, for sure, we've got to improve our special teams."
During Saturday's practice, the Panthers spent extra time polishing their penalty kill.
"We've got to be way more aggressive than we were last night," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said.
Fueled by 15 multi-point games, Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida in scoring with 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists). Carter Verhaeghe is first in goals with 18 and tied with Brandon Montour for second in points (30). Fresh off scoring a hat trick against the Canadiens, captain Aleksander Barkov, who's been limited to 27 games this campaign, has 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists).
With Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight each starting one half of Florida's back-to-back out of the break, Maurice did not announce which netminder will start against the Rangers following practice. With both goaltenders seeing ample time in net his season, Knight has gone 8-6-3 with a .907 save percentage, while Bobrovsky owns a 8-11-1 record with a .897 percentage.
Sitting at 19-12-6, the Rangers have followed up a seven-game winning streak by a losing three of their last four games, including a 2-1 shootout loss at Tampa Bay on Thursday. With Andrei Vasilevskiy making 45 saves, Mika Zibanejad scored the lone goal in regulation for New York.
"They're a veteran team," Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant told reporters after the loss. "They work hard. You know what they're going to bring every night."
Earning second-star honors while going save-for-save with Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin turned aside 39 of 40 shots in regulation, but surrendered two goals in the shootout. The NHL's reigning Vezina Trophy winner, Shesterkin has gone 17-6-5 with a .918 save percentage this season.
While the Rangers have yet to announce a starting goaltender, Forsling said the Panthers will need to get bodies to the paint and take away Shesterkin's eyes if he does get the nod in net.
"He's very solid back there," Forsling said. "We've got to get people in front and make him not see the puck because then he can't save it. That's the goal."
Artemi Panarin leads New York in points (41) and assists (32), while Zibanejad is second in points (39) and tied with Chris Kreider for the most goals with 16. Leading the team's blueliners, Adam Fox, who won the Norris Trophy in 2021, has tallied 35 points (seven goals, 28 assists).
Facing off for the first time this season, the Panthers went 1-2-0 in three head-to-head matchups with the Rangers in 2021-22. Over the course of those three games, Barkov led the Panthers with three points -- all assists -- while Sam Reinhart scored a pair of goals.
An important game as the Panthers look to start their second-half climb up the standings, the Rangers are one team they'll likely have to jump in the standings in the hunt for a playoff spot.
"We know they're a really skilled team," Forsling said of New York. "They have a good power play and are a fast-skating team. We have to come out ready."
"Staying with it. Stay out of the box. Be prepared for every game. Play every period like we did in the second period today. If we do those things, we're going to be good." - Radko Gudas on the road ahead
"I think special teams obviously played a pretty large role. They were good. We need to be better in that area, and tonight was a tough night for us. We'll look at it, get better and look forward to the next game." - Eric Staal on the loss to Carolina
Panthers: Sam Reinhart has nine points (five goals, four assists) over his last eight games. … … Matthew Tkachuk has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) over his last 13 games. … Aleksander Barkov has eight points (four goals, four assists) over his last five games.
Rangers:Artemi Panarin has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) over his last 13 games. … Mika Zibanejad has seven points (one goal, six assists) over his last eight games. … Vincent Trocheck has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) over his last eight games.
- The Panthers lead the NHL with 36.3 shots on goal per game.
- Aleksander Barkov is winning 55.8% of his faceoffs.
- Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida with 15 power-play points.
- Josh Mahura and Gustav Forsling each own a +15 rating.
- The Panthers rank sixth in the NHL with a 53.80 xGF% at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen - Sam Bennett - Colin White
Nick Cousins - Anton Lundell - Sam Reinhart
Ryan Lomberg - Eric Staal - Zac Dalpe
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad
Marc Staal - Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura - Radko Gudas
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Dec. 21: F Anton Levtchi loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 27: D Matt Kiersted and F Anton Levtchi recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 23: D Matt Kiersted, F Givani Smith and F Grigori Denisenko loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 23: F Givani Smith recalled from Charlotte (AHL) on emergency conditions
When: Sunday, Jan. 1 at 5 p.m. ET
Where: FLA Live Arena - Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Spots+, ESPN+
Radio:560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); SiriusXM App & Streaming Channel 932; NHL App
Tickets:Here
Hear from forward Nick Cousins on the latest episode of the Territory Talk podcast.
