SUNRISE, Fla. – Matthew Tkachuk will return to the lineup when the Florida Panthers close out their homestand against the Minnesota Wild at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.
Tkachuk has missed the previous five games with an illness.
"I'm feeling good right now,” Tkachuk said. “Ready to get back in the lineup and help."
With Tkachuk back in the mix – and captain Aleksander Barkov (lower body) not too far behind – the Panthers will look to keep building after finding an early-season groove.
Even without two of their top players, they went 3-1-1 in their last five games.
Improving to 4-2-1 in the standings, the Panthers pushed their point streak to four games with a 4-3 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights in their last outing on Saturday.
Gustav Forsling found the back of the net on a feed from Sam Bennett to secure the win in the extra frame, while Sam Reinhart logged a team-high three points (one goal, two assists).
Named the NHL’s First Star of the Week on Monday, Reinhart has been carrying a hot stick since the season got underway, leading the team with 12 point (five goals, seven assists).
“It’s been a crazy start to the year,” Tkachuk said. “The guys have done an incredible job of coming out of games with wins and just playing really well. That’s what we have here. We have guys that can step up. We have a lot of depth.”
Set to man the crease, Sergei Bobrovsky will have his first crack at a major milestone.
Sitting on 399 wins, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner will try to become just the 14th goalie in NHL history to hit 400. In what will be his 706th appearance, he could also become the fastest goalie to hit that mark. Henrik Lundqvist (727 games) currently holds the record.
In five starts this season, Bobrovsky has gone 3-1-1.
“He’s amazing,” Tkachuk said of his netminder. “He works so hard. He’s a true leader. His preparation and how he takes care of himself, just being a pro, he’s the best at it. To see him in person day after day over the last few years, it’s just incredible. I can learn a lot from him. I love talking to him and learning new things about what he’s done and how it can maybe help me out. We’ll try to get him that win tonight.”
Making their fourth stop on a seven-game road trip, the Wild has earned a point in each of its five games this season. After opening the trip with a 2-1 overtime loss at Winnipeg, the Wild went on to earn wins at St. Louis (4-1) and Columbus (3-1) before heading to Florida.
Against the Blue Jackets on Saturday, Marco Rossi, Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello all lit the lamp for Minnesota, while Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 of 24 shots. The NHL’s reigning Third Star of the Week, Gustavsson has gone 3-0-1 with a .950 save percentage this season.
Kaprizov leads the Wild in scoring with eight points (two goals, six assists). He’s also one of five skaters on the team that has scored multiple goals already, a group that includes Zuccarello (3), Rossi (2) Ryan Hartman (2), Matt Boldy (2).
Doing damage with the extra attacker, the Wild is tied for fourth in the NHL with a 31.3% success rate on the power play.
“Both teams will play very hard,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “It will be physical.”
THEY SAID IT
“When we’re simple, we’re better. When we’re simple, we’re faster.” – Matthew Tkachuk
“He’s (Sam Reinhart) a player. He just competes so hard. He demands a lot from himself and his linemates, but mostly himself. If he doesn’t give you the one pass on the tape – which doesn’t happen a lot – he’ll be hard on himself. You just see that he wants to win so bad. Every decision he does on the ice, it just comes so natural." – Anton Lundell
“He (Matthew Tkachuk) can sense the flow of the game. A lot of the mental part of the game is winning that mental war. Whether to get up and down the bench and bark or to get up and down the bench and tap pads, he has this really good gift of feeling a game that way.” – Paul Maurice
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sam Reinhart is riding a five-game point streak.
- The Panthers have gone 12-for-12 on the PK over their last five games.
- Aaron Ekblad recorded a career-high seven blocks last game.
- Anton Lundell has logged multiple points in three of his last four games.
- Carter Verhaeghe has dished out an assist in each of the last three games.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues – Jesper Boqvist – Mackie Samoskevich
A.J. Greer – Patrick Giles – Uvis Balinskis
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Nate Schmidt – Adam Boqvist
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Oct. 11: F Patrick Giles recalled to Florida
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 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); 1230 WBZT-AM & 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers App; SiriusXM 219 / App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click Here
