"Everybody's excited," Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas said. "It kind of feels like coming in for training camp and seeing everyone after a while. We didn't have that long to get ready for this game, so I think it's going to be really important for us to have a strong game tonight."
Playing their first game in 13 days due to a spike in COVID-19 cases around the league, the Panthers had three days of practice to prepare for the Rangers. In that time, injured players were able to shake off some rust, while others had extra time to return from COVID protocols.
Struggling to ice a lineup in their final game before the pause -- a 4-1 loss to the Kings on Dec. 16 -- the Panthers were missing seven players due to COVID and several others due to injuries.
With all of those players back, it's time to hit the restart button.
"It's going to be fun to have a whole lineup again," said Huberdeau, who leads the team in scoring with 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists). "It was different the last few games, but a lot of a young guys stepped up. It's time to get back to our game and get our chemistry back."
Sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 18-7-4, the Panthers lost three straight games heading into the pause, but are poised to rebound now that they're healthy.
Winning 14 of their first 17 games in Sunrise, they currently lead the NHL with 69 goals scored on home ice, averaging 4.06 goals per game while firing off an average of 38.6 shots on net.
"It's good to see the guys," Huberdeau said of getting back to work. "Before the break we lost three games in a row, so now we've got to get back and take pride and start winning again."
While Huberdeau's 33 points pace the Panthers, three other players have recorded at least 20: Aaron Ekblad (24), Sam Reinhart (23) and Carter Verhaeghe (22). Additionally, although he's been limited to just 16 games, Barkov has racked up 18 points, including a team-high 10 goals.
Between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky will start for the Panthers. Off to a great start, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has posted a 12-3-2 record on top of a 2.47 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage over 19 appearances, including going a near-perfect 9-1-0 on home ice.
"This is a crucial part of our season," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "These are crucial home games. We've got to get our game back pretty fast. It starts tonight."
Occupying third place in the Metropolitan Division, the Rangers headed into the pause on the heels of a 3-2 shootout loss against Vegas on Dec. 17. After stringing together seven straight wins to grab a playoff spot, they've lost four of their last six games entering tonight's matchup.
Led by stalwart defense and goaltending, New York is surrendering the fifth-fewest goals per game in the NHL (2.53). In net, Igor Shesterkin, who is expected to start tonight, has posted a 13-3-2 record with a 2.05 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and one shutout.
Up front, Artemi Panarin has recorded a team-high 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists), while reigning Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox has chipped in 31 points (five goals, 26 assists).
As of this morning, Ryan Lindgren, Alexandar Georgiev, Jarred Tinordi, and Kevin Rooney are in COVID protocols for the Rangers, while only Olli Juolevi is in the protocols for the Panthers.
In their previous meeting, the Rangers handed the Panthers their first regulation loss of the season as Shesterkin made 42 saves to backstop the Blueshirts to a 4-3 win back on Nov. 8.
"They're a young, fast team," Gudas said. "It's going to be huge to not give them space in the neutral zone and make sure that in our own zone we eliminate those high-danger chances. If we have good D-zone coverage and play strong defense, I believe that our offense is going take care of itself. They're a pretty fast team and we have to manage that pretty well tonight."