SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will try to pick up right where they left off when they return from the All-Star break to host the Philadelphia Flyers at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.
Heading into the break with back-to-back road wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders, the Panthers have won each of their last four games and currently sit in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 31-14-4 record.
Since Dec. 23, Florida has gone 13-2-2 and is tied for first in the NHL with 28 points.
“A week off for these guys is great for their legs, but it’s not great for the hands and the rhythm and all the timing that happens in a game that’s played so very fast at such a high level,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “I think it’s great for both teams to play each other. We both have a physical style of hockey and are going to get into this thing five minutes in. We’re not going to play an up-and-down casual game.”
Out since Jan. 2 with a concussion, Nick Cousins will return to the lineup against the Flyers. Set to play alongside Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell on the third line, the 30-year-old veteran has recorded 45 hits this season and always plays with an edge.
A favorite in the locker room, players are excited to have Cousins back in the mix.
“Cuzzy’s a great player,” Lundell said. “He’s not afraid to go into the corners. He’s strong on the puck battles as well. I just think we try to build on that. We get pucks to him and he’s able to do something with them. Overall, just happy to have him back.”
With Sergei Bobrovsky only just returning to practice yesterday after attending the All-Star Game in Toronto over the weekend, backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz will get the nod in net for the Panthers as he looks to continue building on his strong first half.
In 15 appearances this season, Stolarz has gone 8-4-2 with a .916 save percentage.
In his last start, he made 21 saves in a 3-2 overtime win at Long Island on Jan. 27.
“He’s got two full practices in coming off the break and Sergei’s got enough games under his belt,” Maurice said. “Stolies been playing really well. When Anthony left going into the break, he knew he was starting [today]. It was all part of a plan.”
Joining Bobrovsky at the All-Star Game, Sam Reinhart returns from the break on the heels of an incredible first half. Leading Florida with 62 points, he’s already set a career-high in goals (37) and established a new franchise record for power-play goals (20).
Second to Reinhart on the team’s scoring leaderboard with 51 points, Matthew Tkachuk is also carrying a hot stick into the second half. On fire in January, he ranked tied for second in the NHL with 24 points last month, including touching the twine 11 times.
With both the team and individuals heading into the break hot, the Panthers are eager to keep their foot on the gas as they start to gear up for another push to the playoffs.
“The season moves so fast and then the break comes and suddenly more than half of the season has been played,” Lundell said. “It’s fun to get the games going again. We’re just looking forward to playing hockey again.”
In a playoff spot coming out of the break, the Flyers are currently sitting third in the Metropolitan Division at 25-19-6. That being said, their grip on that coveted spot has loosened up quite a bit in recent weeks as they’ve lost each of their last five games.
During that five-game skid, they’ve surrendered at least five goals in four games.
Unlike the Panthers, the Flyers are hoping for a reset out of the break.
An All-Star this season, Travis Konecny leads Philadelphia in both goals (22) and points (42), while Joel Farabee, who paced the club with 15 points in January, ranks second in points (40) and is tied with defenseman Travis Sanheim for the most assists (23).
Inked to an eight-year contract extension on Jan. 27, Owen Tippett leads the Flyers with 18 goals. Dealt from Florida to Philadelphia back in March of 2022, tonight’s matchup will mark the first time that Tippett has played a game in Sunrise since being traded.
While the Flyers have yet to name a starting goaltender at the time of this writing, Samuel Ersson started four straight games heading into the break. In 25 appearances this season, the 24-year-old has posted a 12-9-3 record with a .898 save percentage.
A battle between two physical, defensive-minded teams, the Panthers rank third in the NHL in fewest goals allowed per game (2.57), while the Flyers rank 11th (2.92).
With that, the Panthers don’t expect any ice to be given up easy tonight.
“They play like we do,” Maurice said. “They finish checks, they grind, they block an awful lot of shots. They’re younger than we are, so maybe they’re at a different part of their development, but when you play as hard as they do or we do, you have a chance to win every night.”
PREGAME QUOTES
“[The break] felt like it came at a perfect time. We’ve played a lot of hockey here over the last year and a half. I feel very refreshed, rejuvenated and ready for a lot more games.” – Matthew Tkachuk
“We got into the break feeling good about our play, but it’s not something we needed to hang onto I don’t think that we were on a roll. I don’t think we were lucky. There wasn’t any mojo to [the streak]. It just was just working hard. All the pieces of the game were pretty good. Now we’re just going to keep trying to build from that.” – Paul Maurice
FIVE CATS STATS
- Since Dec. 6, the Panthers own a 7-3-2 record in Sunrise.
- Sam Reinhart ranks second in the NHL in shorthanded goals (4).
- Matthew Tkachuk has logged multiple points in three of his last four games.
- Carter Verhaeghe leads Florida with 18 even-strength goals.
- With 229 assists entering tonight’s matchup, Aaron Ekblad needs to post just one more to surpass Robert Svehla for the most by a defenseman in franchise history.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Anthony Stolarz
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Jan. 29: F Mackie Samoskevich loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH
When: Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Channel 222; App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Here
