previewweb1-21-22

With the adrenaline still flowing from their dominant win over the Oilers on Thursday, the Panthers will look to keep rolling when they visit the Canucks at Rogers Arena on Friday.
Shining bright in Edmonton, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 40 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season, Aleksander Barkov scored twice, and Carter Verhaeghe, Anthony Duclair, Sam Bennett and Owen Tippett each found the back of the net once during an impressive 6-0 victory.
Off to a red-hot start, Bobrovsky has gone 20-3-3 with a .925 save percentage this season.

"We came out a little slow tonight, but Bob was dialed in from the start," said Verhaeghe, referencing Bobrovsky's 17 saves in the first period. "He made huge saves for us all night long. He kept us in the game until we finally got our footing under us and started to play a little better."
Finding success on both sides of the special teams battle, the Panthers went 3-for-5 on the power play while also going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against Edmonton's' top-ranked unit. Since Dec. 29, Florida ranks second in the NHL with 31.4% success rate on the power play.
"Special teams on the road haven't been a strength of ours," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of the performance. "Tonight, the penalty killing was really good against the best power play in league. As for our power play, it's been growing and has been better."
In first place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 27-8-5, the Panthers continue to make life tough on opposing goaltenders. Leading the league with 164 goals, they've scored at least five times in eight of their last 10 contests while compiling a 9-1-1 record during that torrid stretch.
Heading to the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas next month, Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team and ranks tied for second in the league in scoring with 54 points, including dishing out a league-leading 39 assists. Also piling up the points, five other Panthers have recorded at least 30 points: Aaron Ekblad (35), Sam Reinhart (34), Verhaeghe (33), Barkov (32) and Duclair (31).
In nine games in January, eight different Panthers have produced at least nine points.
"Everyone played really well tonight," Verhaeghe said after beating the Oilers.
Playing their first game at home since Dec. 14, the Canucks, who have played nine straight road games while having seven others postponed due to COVID-19, enter tonight's matchup sitting at 18-18-3 after beating the Capitals (4-2) and Predators (3-1) in their last two outings.
Last taking the ice in Nashville on Tuesday, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boester and Juho Lammikko all scored against the Predators, while Thatcher Demko made 31 saves in net.
"We have a lot of heart," said Vancouver head coach Bruce Boudreau, who has helped the team to a 10-3-1 record taking over behind the bench. "We've got a great goaltender. There's no doubt about it. He stopped two or three clean-cut breakaways tonight. He's a wall."
Unfortunately for the Canucks, they'll be without both of their top goaltenders against the Panthers as Demko and backup Jaroslav Halak are both in COVID protocols. Additionally, forwards Bo Horvat, Conor Garland and J.T. Miller are also in protocols and unavailable.
With three of their top-four scorers - Miller (39 points), Garland (24 points) and Horvat (23 points) out of the lineup - the Canucks will really have to lean on Quinn Hughes (31 points), Pettersson (20 points), Boeser (19 points) and Tanner Pearson (16 points) against Florida.
Last playing an NHL game in 2016-17, Spencer Martin, who has gone 5-0-2 with a .921 save percentage in seven AHL games this season, is expected to man the crease for Vancouver.
"Every team has gone through it to some degree, so we have to get through it," Boudreau said.
Facing off for the second time this season, Reinhart scored a pair of goals and Ekblad racked up three points to lift the Panthers to a 5-2 win over the Canucks at FLA Live Arena on Jan. 11.

PANTHERS PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

WHO'S HOT

Panthers:Jonathan Huberdeau has 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) over his last 10 games. … Anthony Duclair has 13 points (seven goals, six assists) over his last 10 games. … Sam Bennett has 10 points (eight goals, two assists) over his last six games. … Carter Verhaeghe has scored six goals over his last six games. … Sam Reinhart has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) over his last seven games. … Aleksander Barkov has 11 points (five goals, six assists) over his last seven games. … Aaron Ekblad has nine points (one goal, eight assists) over his last seven games.
Canucks:Quinn Hughes has three assists over his last two games. … Elias Pettersson has three goals over his last two games. … Juho Lammikko has four points (two goals, two assists) over his last six games. … Tyler Motte has five points (two goals, three assists) over his last six games.

THEY SAID IT

"We have a great team and we have a tight group.
I love the guys and believe in the guys. I think we've built a great atmosphere in the locker room. I've said it so many times, but I'm just happy and it's so much fun to be a part of this group."- Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky on his outstanding first half of the season.
"It's some good players, unbelievable players, that we don't have in the lineup right now. But at the same time, I think we've been going through that all year. It just seems like we've been getting through it and somebody else steps up, and that's what somebody's going to have to do again tomorrow."- Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson on missing key players.

FIVE CATS STATS

  • The Panthers are 10-2-0 when Sam Bennett scores a goal this season.
    - Aaron Ekblad has already produced five three-point games this season.
    - Florida is tied for first in the NHL with six shorthanded goals.
    - Aleksander Barkov leads the Panthers with four multi-goal games.
    - Since the start of the 2020-21 season, MacKenzie Weegar leads all NHL defensemen in even-strength points (53).

PANTHERS TRANSACTIONS

  • Jan. 20: F Maxim Mamin and D Matt Kiersted recalled to active roster
    - Jan. 17: F Owen Tippett recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
    - Jan. 17: F Aleksi Heponiemi and F Maxim Mamin reassigned to Taxi Squad
    - Jan. 14: G Evan Fitzpatrick signed to 1-year, 2-way contract and loaned to Taxi Squad

PANTHERS NEWS

HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN

When:Friday, Jan. 21 at 10:00 p.m. ET
Where: Rogers Arena - Vancouver, BC
TV:Bally Sports Florida
Stream:Bally Sports App, ESPN+ (Out of Region)
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys) SiriusXM App & Streaming 932