ANAHEIM – The Florida Panthers could get a key player or two back in their lineup when they wrap up their road trip with a matchup against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Friday.
Missing the first 16 games of the season after undergoing offseason surgery for upper-body injuries sustained in the playoffs, Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour have been getting closer and closer to playing again ever since the defensive duo returned to practice on Oct. 29.
Two massive pieces on the back end, Montour posted career highs in goals (16) and assists (57) en route to setting a new franchise record for most points in a season by a defenseman (73) last season, while Ekblad notched 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) and 80 blocked shots.
Prior to hitting the road, head coach Paul Maurice said that the team had been targeting this game as a potential return for Montour, while Ekblad wasn’t expected to be too far behind him.
A definite answer on their availability won’t come until Maurice speaks to the media around 7:45 p.m. ET.
“We might get a couple players back in our lineup that would excite the group,” Maurice said after Thursday’s 2-1 loss in Los Angeles, which snapped the teams’ five-game winning streak. “You need a little jolt on back-to-backs. Keep your game as simple and as fast as you can.”
Suffering their first loss since Nov. 4, the Panthers enter tonight’s matchup on the heels of a tight game against the Kings. Running into a hot goaltender, the Panthers had 1.55 expected goals over five power plays, but came up empty as Cam Talbot stopped 10 shots on the PK.
Facing a two-goal deficit in the third period, Sam Reinhart, the NHL’s reigning First Star of the Week, took a pass from Carter Verhaeghe and beat Talbot with a wicked shot to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 11:45. With the timely goal, he moved into a tie for first in the NHL in goals with 13.
After pulling Sergei Bobrovsky for a 6-on-5 advantage with just over two minutes left in regulation, the Panthers continued to generate quality scoring chances, but couldn’t find the game-tying goal.
Sitting at 10-5-1, Florida currently occupies second place in the Atlantic Division.
“We were able to stick with it and give ourselves a fighting chance,” Reinhart said. “You give them credit, they’re a team that when they have the lead it’s not easy to come back on them. I think they were a little bit more assertive early on, a little bit quicker on pucks. We fell behind.”
After backing up Bobrovsky against the Kings, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Anthony Stolarz get the nod in net against the Ducks in the second half of the back-to-back. In three starts this season, Stolarz has gone 2-1-0, including making 19 saves in a 5-3 win at San Jose on Tuesday.
Prior to putting pen to paper on a one-year deal with the Panthers this past summer, Stolarz spent four seasons with the Ducks, posting a 21-18-3 record on top of a .913 save percentage.
Off to a surprisingly hot start, the Ducks sit at 9-7-0 and have made a habit out of never giving up in games early this season. Looking at their wins, they’ve come from behind in six of them, including three multi-goal comebacks. During all six of those comebacks, they trailed in the third period.
But in their last outing, the hole they dug was far too deep.
Trailing the Avalanche 3-1 after two periods, the Ducks ended up losing 8-2 on Wednesday.
Former Panther Frank Vatrano leads Anaheim in goals (11) and is tied with Mason McTavish for first in points (16). On the back end, another former Panther has also been making an impact as Radko Gudas leads the Ducks in plus/minus (+8) and hits (43), while also scoring three goals.
A key piece of Florida’s run to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, Gudas inked a three-year contract with the Ducks this past summer. Over three seasons in South Florida, the grizzled blueliner tallied 44 points (seven goals, 37 assists) while amassing an absurd 917 hits, including 355 in 2021-22.
Even though he’s in a different sweater, Gudas remains a favorite among Cats fans.
Between the pipes, John Gibson and Lukas Dostal have both seen ample time for Anaheim. Dostal has gone 5-3-0 with a .893 save percentage, while Gibson sits at 4-4-0 with a .927 save percentage. Gibson has won his last two starts, while Dostal took the loss in Colorado.
More information on lineups for both teams should come closer to puck drop.
The Panthers won each of their games against the Ducks in 2022-23.
PREGAME QUOTES
“We had a few good chances to score. I don’t think we did anything bad there. We moved the puck, we got pucks to the net and we had some chances. We just have to stick with it.” – Aleksander Barkov on how the power play performed in Thursday’s loss to the Kings
“I think we were trying to do a little bit too much. Give them credit, they kind of bring that out of you. That’s what we try and bring out of other teams. I think they stuck to their game plan a little bit better early on. Then we simplified. That’s going to happen in this league.” – Sam Reinhart on the Panthers struggling to find goals against the Kings
FIVE CATS STATS
- Aleksander Barkov has logged 16 points (4G, 12A) in 16 career games vs. Anaheim.
- The Panthers are tied for first in the NHL with six wins in November.
- Sam Reinhart is riding a six-game point streak.
- Gustav Forsling leads Florida’s defensemen with a +11 plus/minus rating.
- The Panthers are one win away from their 1,000th as a franchise.
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 – Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Brandon Montour
Oliver-Ekman Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Anthony Stolarz
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Nov. 17: F Jonah Gadjovich recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Nov. 13: F William Lockwood loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Nov. 11: F Rasmus Asplund loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Nov. 7: F Jonah Gadjovich loaned to Charlotte (AHL) on conditioning assignment
HOW TO WATCH
When: Friday, Nov. 17 at 10 p.m. ET
Where: Honda Center – Anaheim, CA
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 2.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
