Monday: at Nashville Predators, 4:30 p.m. / 8:00 p.m.
What's better than one game to jumpstart the preseason? How about two! The Panthers will get their first taste of action in 2019-20 when they visit the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Monday for the annual doubleheader between the two clubs - a unique tradition that began in 2011. The last time the Panthers pulled double duty in Nashville, they won one game 5-3 and lost the other 3-2 in overtime in 2017. Last season, the Predators won both contests in Sunrise. Entering this latest matchup, look for Florida's rookies and other players on the roster bubble to earn a lot of playing time. The Cats are traveling 51 players to the Music City, which means not everyone can play in this one. Like Coach Q said, cuts are coming, so these two games might be the only opportunity for some players on the cusp to show what they've got. While no official lineup has been released yet, there's a good chance that top-forward prospects Owen Tippett and Aleksi Heponiemi, who are both turning pro this season, will play. On the other end of the ice, the Predators have some equally intriguing roster battles going on with forwards Rem Pitlick (3rd round, 2016) and Eeli Tolvaven (1st round, 2017) standing out as two young players hoping to stick with the big club this season. There's also a possibility that we could potentially see the Nashville debut of center Matt Duchene, who joined the team this summer as a free agent.
TV: n/a
Radio:
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Wednesday: at Montreal Canadiens, 7:00 p.m.
Where is Renous, New Brunswick? We're all about to find out. Chosen to participate in this year's Kraft Hockeyville game, the Panthers and Montreal Canadiens will battle at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre on Wednesday in Bathurst, which is about an hour drive away from Renous. "I remember watching one of those [games] every preseason," Panthers forward Frank Vatrano said of the event, which is entering its 13th season. "It's always cool to see the fans that show up to that. It's a small town, but there's probably going to be a lot of people. It's definitely a game to get excited about." Florida won its only matchup against Montreal during last year's preseason, riding two early goals from Evgenii Dadonov to a 5-2 win at Bell Centre on Sept. 19, 2018. This time around, it's once again a best guess as to who will be in the lineup for the Cats. Could we see the highly anticipated Panthers debut of two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky? Maybe Aleksander Barkov will be manning the top line? We'll know more as the week rolls on.
TV:NHL Network
Radio:
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Thursday: at Montreal Canadiens, 7:00 p.m.
Following their visit to Kraft Hockeyville, the Panthers will quickly head to Montreal to close out their back-to-back and road trip against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Thursday. As previously mentioned, Florida topped Montreal in last year's preseason. In four regular-season games, both Barkov and Mike Hoffman had better than a point per game against the Canadians. Barkov had three goals and two assists; Hoffman had one goal and four assists. For the Habs, Max Domi led the charge against the Cats in 2018-19, posting four goals and an assist. Following this contest, the Panthers will have four preseason games remaining, including a home tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sept. 24 - the first of five straight games they'll play against their cross-state rivals. Three of those games will be exhibitions. The fourth will mark the Season Opener on Oct. 3. The fifth and final game will be the Home Opener on Oct. 5.
TV: n/a
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast);
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Saturday: at Dallas Stars, 8:00 p.m.
Get out your cowboy hat and best pair of boots, the Panthers are heading back to Oklahoma. For the second year in a row, the Cats will travel to Tulsa on Saturday to clash with the Dallas Stars in a neutral-site game at the BOK Center, home of the ECHL's Tulsa Oilers. In their last preseason meeting, Henrik Borgstrom opened the scoring in an eventual 4-3 overtime win. In this latest installment, the second-year center will look to have a similar impact if he plays as he works to carve out a place for himself in the lineup once again this season. "I want to be better than I was last year," said Borgstrom, who tallied eight goals and 10 assists in 50 games as a rookie in 2018-19. "I hope I can play more with the puck and create more offense." As for the Stars, keep your eyes on Tyler Seguin, who led the team in goals (33) and points (80) last year.
TV: n/a
Radio:
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