SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will try to stretch their winning streak to six games when they host the Nashville Predators at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.
Sitting atop the Atlantic Division at 9-3-1, the Panthers enter tonight’s matchup looking to build off a two-game sweep of the Dallas Stars at the 2024 Global Series in Finland.
After filling up the scoresheet against the Stars in an exhilarating 6-4 win on Friday, the Panthers took down Dallas once again the following night in a 4-2 win on Saturday.
While all four of Florida’s Finnish players tallied at least one point over the course of the two games, Aleksander Barkov led the way in his hometown of Tampere with five points.
Off to a stellar start, the goal is to now keep rolling back in North America.
“It’s been a pretty crazy schedule to start the season,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said after morning skate at Baptist Health IcePlex. “A lot of travel, a lot of team bonding and stuff like that. It’s nice to be back playing in front of our home fans and getting into a rhythm here.”
Racking up five points over the two games in Finland, Sam Reinhart continues to throw gasoline on his already hot start. In addition to leading the Panthers, he ranks tied for fourth in the NHL in points (21) and tied for first in goals (10), including three shorthanded strikes.
Below No. 13, Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell have both logged 13 points, while Barkov, Verhaeghe, Matthew Tkachuk and Gustav Forsling each have eight points. Both Barkov and Tkachuk missed time earlier this season and are producing at a point-per-game pace.
Owning a 6-2-1 record, Sergei Bobrovsky will get the nod in net against Nashville.
As a team, the Panthers have started out incredibly strong on both sides of special teams, ranking seven in the NHL on the power play (25.7%) and fifth on the penalty kill (86.8%).
“Some of it was that we got a little bit healthy on the trip,” head coach Paul Maurice aid of the team’s early-season success. “We get people in their spots where they’re expected to be. (Tomas) Nosek comes in, both Barkov and Tkachuk come back into our lineup. It’s like you bought a house, it was a mess, you made it up and then you back in and recognize it.”
Despite having a very busy summer of signings, the Predators have struggled in the early goings of this season, including losing their first five games. Last in the Central Division at 4-8-1, they enter tonight’s game on the heels of a 3-2 loss at Washington on Wednesday.
Tied 2-2 in the third period, Alex Ovechkin lit the lamp to put the Capitals up 3-2 and hand the Predators their fourth loss in the last five games. In defeat, Juuso Parssinen and Steven Stamkos scored for Nashville, while Juuse Saros stopped 33 of 36 shots between the pipes.
Despite inking players like Stamkos (558 career goals) and Jonathan Marchessault (232 career goals) to big contracts in the offseason, the Predators have yet to get into a groove on offense as they currently rank 29th in the NHL with an average of 2.38 goals per game.
At 5-on-5, Nashville has been outscored 33-14 for a league-worst 29.79 GF%.
“You’re not jealous of what they’re going through, but anyone that gets to where they want to get to has to go through some adversity,” Maurice said. “Theirs is at the start of their season. We come off a trip, they come off a back-to-back. They do have the desperation advantage going into the game tonight. I saw it [last night]. Their D-zone was hard. They’re driving hard.”
Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly are tied for first on the Predators in scoring with 10 points each, while Gustav Nyquist, Marchessault and Roman Josi have each posted seven points.
With Saros starting last night, backup Scott Wedgewood will likely get the nod against the Panthers. In two appearances this season, he’s gone 1-1-0 with a. 854 save percentage.
Overall, the Panthers don’t want to be the team Nashville bounces back against.
“They’re a really good team,” Verhaeghe said. “They have a lot of good players. They can score at will. They’re definitely looking to get back to their game. Tough start for them, but they’re going to figure it out."
THEY SAID IT
“Everyone’s contributing and sticking to what makes us a good team. I think we’re just grinding games out, not winning the same way every night. We’re defending and playing well.” – Carter Verhaeghe
“It’s great being back again. A good road trip, for sure. A couple wins there. The team is playing good. It’s good coming back and hopefully we can keep building off that.” – Jesper Boqvist
FIVE CATS STATS
- Niko Mikkola has recorded four assists over his last five games.
- The Panthers own a 3-1-1 record at home this season.
- Sam Reinhart is riding a four-game goal streak.
- Sam Bennett is two points away from his 300th NHL point.
- Anton Lundell ranks second on the Panthers with three second-period goals.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Mackie Samoskevich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Nov. 4: Signed F Gracyn Sawchyn to an entry-level contract
- Nov. 1: F Patrick Giles loaned to AHL Charlotte
- Oct. 25: Singed F Hunter St. Martin to an entry-level contract
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers App; SiriusXM Channel 91 / App & Streaming 931
Giveaway: Atlantic Division champion replica banner
Tickets: Click Here
