"Seider, I have been extremely impressed with his game,'' Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said following Friday's practice. "It's so fun to watch all the young players in the league. Lucas Raymond, his hands and his ability to make plays and score goals. He does all the little things. We know we have our hands full. But I love seeing young guys come in and make a difference."
Raymond paces all rookies in scoring with 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists), while Seider leads all rookie defensemen in goals (tied-5), assists (36) and points (41). Not too far behind despite seeing much less time on the power play, Lundell has notched 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists).
Already one of Florida's most-reliable defensive forwards, Lundell, who only just turned 20 in October, ranks first among rookies in plus/minus (+29), takeaways (50) and faceoff wins (284).
"He's been a huge boost and is really ahead of schedule," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of Lundell, the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. "We knew that we were getting a really good player and a really smart player, but to come in here and play at this level of competition, we didn't know he was this advanced at this level of development. It has been fortunate for this group that we were able to plug him in and he took the ball and ran with it."
Sitting at 36-13-5 and trailing the cross-state rival Lightning by just one point for first place in the Atlantic Division, the Panthers enter tonight's matchup fresh off a 3-0 win over the Senators on Friday in which Sergei Bobrovsky made 18 saves to register his second shutout of the season.
Up front, Patric Hornqvist and Mason Marchment, who finished the tilt with two points apiece, each lit the lamp on the power play, while Ryan Lomberg came up an assist short of a Gordie Howe hat trick after scoring a goal and dropping the gloves for a fight during the third period.
Riding his breakout season to a spot on the first line alongside Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe for the last two games, Marchment has recorded 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) over is last 12 games to increase his career-high point total to 30 on 12 goals and 18 assists.
Holding onto the puck for what seemed like the entire game, the Panthers finished with huge advantages over the Senators in shot attempts (90-38), shots on goal (48-18), scoring chances (54-19) and high-danger shot attempts (20-8) during the win, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Snapping out of a three-game losing streak, Florida owns a 24-6-0 record at home.
"We dropped three in a row and came back against a team that's hungry," Ekblad said. "They play hard every night, Ottawa does. We knew that, and they handed it to us, 8-2, last time. It was great to get that win and now try and bring some momentum into [Saturday]."
Fighting to stay in the playoff race in the jampacked Eastern Conference at 24-25-6, the Red Wings have dropped four of their last six games, including a 3-1 loss at Tampa Bay on Friday.
In defeat, Detroit surrendered three power play goals to the Lightning.
"It's frustrating right now," Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said, "A tough feeling but we have to bounce back. They get power-plays goals tonight, we got none. That's the story of the game."
An all-star this season, Larkin leads Detroit in goals (27) and points (56). Also surpassing the 40-point mark are Tyler Bertuzzi (46), Raymond (43) and Seider (41). Over his last 11 games, Larkin has been carrying a very hot stick while racking up 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists).
With Alex Nedeljkovic manning the crease across the Sunshine State less than 24 hours ago, it's likely that Thomas Greiss will start for the Red Wings in Sunrise. A thorn in Florida's side in previous seasons, Greiss has posted an 8-8-1 record with a .895 save percentage in 2021-22.
Looking to build off his blank sheet, Bobrovsky will be back in net for the Panthers. Leading the NHL in wins at home (17), the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has gone 27-6-3 with a .916 save percentage this season, including making 28 saves in a 3-2 overtime win at Detroit on Oct. 29.
"We've got to be ready to go," Brunette said. "They're a fast team."
