NEW YORK – These matchups tend to bring out the best in the Florida Panthers.
Set to meet for the first time since last year’s playoffs, the Panthers will try to kick off their road trip with a win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
Last year, the Panthers axed the Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference Final.
Having already beaten the Boston Bruins (twice) and Vegas Golden Knights in recent playoff rematches, the Panthers should be set for another strong showing in New York.
“It’s the memory,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “You remember the New York playoff games, the Boston playoff games and Vegas playoff games. Those are really intense, very fast, hard-fought games. You don’t remember any of the regular-season games against them. The energy is built in through the memory of how these games are played.”
Sitting at 4-3-1, the Panthers have earned points in four of their last five games, but enter tonight’s matchup looking to rebound from a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
While Aleksander Barkov (lower body) and Tomas Nosek (upper body) are both likely to return to action in the near future, the Panthers will continue to run with 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Rangers as no lineup changes are expected.
Sergei Bobrovsky will get the nod in net.
Bobrovsky was particularly strong against the Rangers during last year’s Eastern Conference Final, including posting a stellar 24-save shutout in a 3-0 win in Game 1.
In their return to the Big Apple, the Panthers still sense a little of that magic.
“Playing here is always special,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said. “After last year and beating these guys, it was a tough challenge. It’s always a good game against these guys. We expect a good one. It’s always a lot of fun.”
The league’s reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Rangers have picked up right where they left off in terms of regular-season success. Yet to lose in regulation, they’ve gone 5-0-1 through their first six games with +19 goal differential to shoot up the Metropolitan Division.
Scoring at least four goals in each of their first six games, the Rangers enter tonight’s matchup fresh off a 7-2 win at Montreal on Tuesday. In that win, Filip Chytil led New York with a pair of goals, while Igor Shesterkin stopped 21 of 23 shots between the pipes.
Owning a 4-0-1 record with a .932 save percentage, Shesterkin is likely to start tonight.
Starting the season with a six-game point streak, Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers in both goals (6) and points (13). Vincent Trocheck and Adam Fox are tied for second in scoring with six points apiece, while seven other skaters have already registered at least five points.
“Obviously he’s an amazing player,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said of Panarin. “He’s really skilled. We try to take away time and space from him out there. He’s good when he gets time, and we want to pressure him.”
En route to their Stanley Cup, the Panthers pushed their way past the Rangers in impressive fashion during last year’s Eastern Conference Final. Finding success on the road in that series, they clawed their way to wins in two of their three trips to Madison Square Garden.
During the regular season, the Panthers also went 2-0-1 against New York in 2023-24.
Only a few months removed from last year’s playoffs, the leftover intensity from that series should slip into tonight's tilt.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Forsling said. “We played a few months ago. Those were very, very exciting games against them in the playoffs. We’re excited to bring it tonight.”
THEY SAID IT
“They have some really good players, a really good goalie and I think it’s just kind of sticking with what we do. We’re not really focused on too much of what they do. It’s just kind of finding our way in our system.” – Carter Verhaeghe
“You get a little more excited, for sure. MSG is a very cool building to play in. You always have a lot of energy here.” – Gustav Forsling
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers are 3-0-0 when Eetu Luostarinen scores a goal.
- Sam Bennett has recorded a point in six of the last eight games.
- Anton Lundell is winning 55% of his faceoffs.
- Sam Reinhart has tallied a team-high seven points at even strength.
- Florida ranks sixth in the NHL with a 53.9 CF% at 5-on-5.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues – Jesper Boqvist – Mackie Samoskevich
A.J. Greer – Patrick Giles – Uvis Balinskis
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Nate Schmidt – Adam Boqvist
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Oct. 11: F Patrick Giles recalled to Florida
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT-AM & 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
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