PREVIEW: Stolarz to start as Panthers welcome Sharks to Sunrise
Panthers turn to their veteran backup against the winless Sharks
Joining the Panthers on a one-year contract his past summer, Stolarz, who spent the four previous seasons in Anaheim, has gone 27-24-7 with a .912 save percentage in his career.
“He’s got to work so hard in practice that the players feel indebted to him and they want it for him,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the team’s 6-foot-6, 243-pound backup goaltender. “They appreciate what he’s done in there. He’s a good guy. He’s a talker in the net, which will be good for the number of new people that we have in our lineup. Everybody’s pulling for him.”
Stolarz won’t be the only player suiting up in their first game as a Panther as forward William Lockwood is also set to draw-in against the Sharks after a strong showing in training camp.
Inked to a two-year, two-way contract in the offseason, the 25-year-old appeared in 28 games over parts of three seasons with the Canucks before joining the Panthers. In two games with Charlotte in the AHL this season prior to his recall, he notched two goals and an assist.
“I can’t wait,” Lockwood said of getting into the action. “It’s an awesome opportunity to come and play. I’m really excited. … Just enjoy it and have fun, that’s going to be my main focus.”
Maurice added that additional lineup changes could be made prior to puck drop.
With new faces in the mix, the Panthers will look to get back to .500 after falling to 2-3-0 with a 5-3 loss to the Canucks on Saturday. Trailing 3-1 entering the third period, Sam Reinhart scored twice for the Panthers to make it 3-3 before the Canucks answered with two goals of their own.
Aleksander Barkov also scored for Florida, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.
Named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week on Monday, Reinhart has found the back of the net in each of the last four games, including two multi-goal performances. Behind that early scoring surge, the 27-year-old forward currently ranks tied for second in the NHL with six goals.
“He’s continued to improve himself every year,” Maurice said. “He worked incredibly hard this summer to be one of our fittest athletes. You can tell he’s got the legs, he’s driving.”
Still in search of their first win, the Sharks fell to 0-4-1 with a 5-1 loss at Nashville on Saturday. Tomas Hertl scored the lone goal for San Jose, while Mackenize Blackwood surrendered five goals on 34 shots. Of those five goals for the Predators, three came during the first two periods.
Through their first five games, the Sharks have been outscored 19-7.
“Because you don’t see the other team, you can’t really now their style,” Maurice said of facing San Jose. “Every team has its own, based on personnel, style. Spending a lot of time worrying about the other team, especially this early, we won’t. We’ll be respectful of everybody because we’re under .500 and not in the playoffs either, so we’re both scratching and clawing.”
Hertl leads the Sharks in scoring with five points (one goal, four assists). Under him, four players are tied for second with two points each: Filip Zadina, Fabian Zetterlund and Henry Thrun.
After being traded to San Jose in the offseason, this will be Anthony Duclair’s first game against the Panthers since that deal went down. Over three seasons in South Florida, the speedy forward registered 99 points (43 goals, 56 assists) in 137 games and also scored five goals in the playoffs.
Coming over to the Panthers in that trade, Steven Lorentz is excited to face his former teammates.
“It’s exciting,” said Lorentz, who's quickly become a key player on Florida’s fourth line. “I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, but at the same time business is business. I’m not going to be too nice to them out there. It’s pretty cool.”
The Panthers went a perfect 2-0-0 against the Sharks in 2022-23.
PREGAME QUOTES
“It’s completely from camp. He gets on the radar by his kind of professionalism. He’d see the video once and then go out and run the routes. He’d just do exactly what you asked him to do, and he does it with speed and has a good stick.” – Paul Maurice on William Lockwood getting into the lineup
“I learned a lot from the guys there. We were a younger group trying to find an identity throughout that season. … I’ve got nothing but good memories from San Jose. Even though we weren’t the greatest team, I loved my time there.” – Steven Lorentz on facing the Sharks
“I thought I had a pretty good camp. I think the style of game fits my play pretty well. It’s easy when you come into a system like that. It’s a smooth transition.” – William Lockwood on getting the call from the Panthers
FIVE CATS STATS
- Aleksander Barkov is riding a four-game point streak.
- Evan Rodrigues has amassed a team-high +6 rating.
- Anthony Stolarz is 8-1-0 in nine career games against San Jose.
- Matthew Tkachuk has tallied 23 points in 20 career games vs. the Sharks.
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson ranks second on the team in average ice time per game (24:49).
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Eetu Luostarinen – Matthew Tkachuk
Nick Cousins – Anton Lundell – William Lockwood
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Stenlund – Steven Lorentz
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura – Uvis Balinskis
Goaltenders
Anthony Stolarz
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Oct. 21: F Justin Sourdif loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Oct. 17: F Will Lockwood recalled from Charlotte (AHL); F Mackie Samoskevich loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Oct. 16: F Jonah Gadjovich agreed to terms on a one-year contract
HOW TO WATCH
When: Tuesday, October 24 at 7:45 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Ch. 201; App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Click Here
