"I thought we played a pretty good road game," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of the team's first meeting with the Stars. "We just had a few little areas we had to clean up. Being on home ice, I think we can dictate the pace that we want to play, which should be huge."
Sitting at 24-7-5 and owning the best points percentage in the league (.736), the Panthers have been on a tear during their point streak. Averaging almost six goals per game, they've outscored the opposition 38-20 over their last seven games, including a 5-2 win over the Canucks on Tuesday.
Rushing out to an early 2-0 lead against Vancouver, Sam Reinhart (times two!), Aaron Ekblad, Maxim Mamin and Aleksander Barkov all lit the lamp in the win, while Sergei Bobrovsky, who will get the start tonight, turned aside 42 of 44 shots to improve his personal record to 17-3-3.
Picking up an assist in the win to extend his point streak to six games, Jonathan Huberdeau was named to the 2022 NHL All-Star Game on Thursday. Leading the Panthers in scoring, the dynamic playmaker ranks fifth in the league in points (47) and tied for second in assists (34).
Since Nov. 30, he's tallied a league-leading 27 points (six goals, 21 assists) in 15 games.
"It's obviously fun representing the team," said Huberdeau, a two-time all-star (2020, 2022). "It's an honor. It means your season is going well. With us, there was a lot of options. Some other] guys should be there, but sometimes it's one per team. I'm excited to go there and have fun."
Right now, fans can also vote to send Barkov to the event as one of the league's "Last Men In" by visiting
[NHL.com/LastMenIn
.
"I think Ekky deserves it as much as me, and obviously Barky should be there every year," Huberdeau said. "That's how it works sometimes. Hopefully 'Last Man In' can be one of us."
In sixth place in the Central Division, the Stars improved to 18-13-2 with a 5-2 win against the Kraken on Wednesday. After having six games postponed, Dallas has won three of four games since returning to action while surrendering two-or-fewer goals in all but one of those contests.
That one other contest, of course, being their 6-5 shootout win over the Panthers.
Heading to the All-Star Game, Joe Pavelski, who produced five points (two goals, three assists) against Seattle, leads the Stars in goals (15), assists (20) and points (35). Not far behind, Jason Robertson, who has six goals in nine career games against Florida, sits second with 32 points.
Expected to take the ice for the 900th game of his NHL career tonight, Stars captain Jamie Benn has accumulated 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) over 25 career games against the Panthers.
In the crease, either Jake Oettinger or Braden Holtby will draw in for Dallas. Sharing duties this season, Oettinger has gone 9-2-0 with a .923 save percentage, while Holtby is 6-8-1 with a. 920 save percentage. In four games since the pause, the team has alternated between netminders.
"They've got a lot of skill and they work hard," Panthers forward Sam Bennett said. "We know what to expect. We played them not too long ago. It's an important one for us to get wins on home ice right before a long road trip."
Turning their barn into a fortress, the Panthers own a 19-3-0 record in Sunrise and lead the league in goals (98), shots per game (38.4) and five-on-five shots (690) at home this season.
"It was a high-scoring game in Dallas, and now coming into this game at home we've got to play better defensively," Huberdeau said. "Obviously they're a good offensive team. We've just got to play well defensively. We know we can score goals, so we've just got to be better defensively."
