"I'm so excited," said Kiselevich, who joined the Panthers on a one-year deal this summer after spending nearly a decade in Russia's KHL. "Nobody wants to get injured in the last preseason game. I was skating a lot, working with coach after practice. I'm ready to get in there."
Kiselevich, 28, has spent the past two weeks skating with the team in a non-contact jersey after taking a puck to the face in Tampa on Sept. 29. In addition to needing approximately 40 stiches, he also had a plate inserted into his jaw and is expected to wear a cage for the next 1-2 months.
"I'm looking forward to seeing him," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "It's been a couple weeks, so hopefully he doesn't have too much rust at the beginning. But I think he's going to get better and better as we move through the season here… Tough kid. He's playing with a plate in there and he's going to have a half shield on. He's looked good here in practice this last week."
Boughner said Kiselevich will start the night on the team's bottom pairing alongside Alexander Petrovic - one of several lineup changes the Panthers (0-1-1) are making after letting the lead slip through their fingers in a tough 5-4 loss to Columbus in Thursday night's home opener.
Looking for more production from the middle-six, Mike Hoffman will slide down from the right side of the second line, while Denis Malgin moves up from the third to take his place. Having found success on that line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck in the past, Malgin believes the trio should be able to provide the offensive spark Boughner is looking for.
"I'm happy to get back there," said Malgin, who spent a total of 188:45 of 5-on-5 ice time with that unit last season. "I'm just going to give my best hockey there. I think, last year, we had a couple good looks. I hope we can play like that… I think we were pretty fast together. We made plays. I was trying to set them up and they were trying to pass me the puck, too. I'm excited."
James Reimer will get his second straight nod in net for the Panthers in place of injured starter Roberto Luongo. Reimer, 30, allowed five goals on 32 shots in his last outing against the Blue Jackets, but looked stellar in his only other appearance before that, stopping 15 of 16 shots to help Florida secure a point in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Lighting in the season opener.
Luongo, however, will still have a strong presence in the arena.
As part of the organization's season-long "Legacy Saturdays" series, Luongo, who is expected to be sidelined for 2-4 weeks with an MCL sprain, will be honored prior to puck drop for his long list of contributions to the franchise, including becoming just the third goaltender to ever appear in 1,000 NHL games late last season - one of many big stats in his Hall-of-Fame-worthy career.
"It's going to be nice," said Luongo, who is Florida's all-time leader in wins (212) and shutouts (37). "I'm disappointed that I obviously won't be able to play, but my parents flew down and there's going to be a lot of family here. It's going to be nice to have the presentation. I'm obviously thankful to have the Florida Panthers put it together for me."
In the midst of his 19th NHL season, Luongo, 39, also played 448 games with the Canucks.
"I was happy that it happened to be with the two clubs that I spent most of my career with," Luongo said of the ceremony. "I think it does make it extra special."
Although he appreciates being honored with his former team in the building, Luongo joked that he barely recognized any players on the opposing roster, as much of Vancouver's young core debuted long after he was shipped back to the Panthers before the traded deadline in 2014.
The Canucks (2-2-0) are led by a pair of dynamic forwards in 21-year-old Brock Boeser and 19-year-old rookie Elias Pettersson, the fifth-overall pick in 2017 and early Calder Trophy favorite. Boeser, a Calder Trophy finalist last season, scored the game-winner to lead Vancouver to a 4-1 win in Tampa on Saturday night, with Pettersson also notching in his team-leading fourth goal.
Vancouver has scored three or more goals in each of its first four outings this season.
"We just need to have the same energy we had in the last game," said Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, who tallied a goal and an assist in Thursday's loss. "We played two nights ago. We're in a game rhythm. We know not to make those mistakes and play the right way."
