FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The road ahead for the Florida Panthers is just that.
Lots and lots of time on the road.
Packing their bags and hitting the skies following Monday’s practice at Baptist Health IcePlex, the Panthers will play of 10 their remaining 13 games in January on the road.
On Tuesday, they’ll kick off a six-game trip against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“It’s a lot of fun going on the road with the guys,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said.
Sitting just one point out of a second wild-card spot at 22-16-3, the Panthers own an 8-7-0 record on the road, but the vast majority of those losses came at the start of the season.
Over their last seven road games, they’ve gone 6-1-0.
During the upcoming trip, all six games are against the Eastern Conference.
“We’ve worked really, really hard here – by we, I mean everybody else – on developing a road game we all understand,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “We always talk about handling your day. We don’t look at these road trips as a long, painful block. If you can play every second day on the road and don’t have a lot of aberrations like a 1 o’clock game, it’s pretty routine. That’s a playoff mindset and a playoff format. We work on our recovery.”
Brad Marchand has been Florida’s top performer on the road, amassing 17 points (9G, 8A) in 15 games. Also producing double-digit points in enemy territory, Sam Reinhart has logged 15 points, while Sam Bennett Anton Lundell and Verhaeghe each have 10.
In 10 road starts, Sergei Bobrovsky has gone 7-3-0 with a .903 save percentage.
Nearing a return following offseason surgery, Matthew Tkachuk will travel with the team.
Practicing since Dec. 28 in a non-contact jersey, teammates are happy to have him back.
“I think he’s going to have too much time on his hands, so there might be a couple pranks,” Verhaeghe smiled. “It’s good to have him back on the road and hanging out with the guys.”
BENNETT A BEAST
In addition to clothes and a toothbrush, Bennett is packing another key item for the road.
A nine-game point streak.
The longest run of point-centric success in his career, the grizzled forward has recorded 10 points (4G, 6A) during his streak, helping the Panthers to a 5-3-1 record.
“I feel pretty good about my game,” said Bennett, who was surprisingly left of Canada’s roster for the upcoming Olympics. “Our whole line has been generating quite a bit. I think we can be a bit better defensively, but all-around I feel pretty good about my game.”
Opening the scoring in Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche, Bennett showed off both his power and skill on a great individual effort and drive to the net in the first period.
Dating back to Nov. 17, Bennett is tied for 14th in scoring in the NHL with 26 points.
In that same span, he ranks second on the Panthers in hits (50) and faceoff wins (167).
“He’s been awesome,” said Verhaeghe, one of Bennett’s regular linemates. “He’s making plays out there. He’s confident with the puck. He’s playing with speed. He’s been finding a way to get to the net, and you saw that last game. Playing with him has been great.”
GADJOVICH, SCHWINDT PRACTICE
Sporting a yellow no-contact jersey, Jonah Gadjovich returned to practice on Monday.
Working his way back from surgery after suffering an upper-body injury on Oct. 25 in a 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, the fourth-line forward had recorded three assists, 30 hits and a plus-2 plus-minus rating in 10 games prior to being knocked out of the lineup.
During last year’s Cup run, he tallied three points (2G, 1A) and 63 hits in 16 playoff games.
As of right now, Gadjovich’s return still isn’t expected to come until after the Olympics.
“It’s good he can get work in while he’s healing,” Maurice said. “Some injures you’ve got to wait on. At this point, we feel he can get out there. A little bit like Matthew (Tkachuk), we think that once he returns to be play, he’ll be at peak fitness. There’s varying degrees of gold sweaters out there. He’s still closer to complete non-contact. Matthew is closer to coming out.”
Also working his way back from surgery, Cole Schwindt has shed his no-contact jersey.
Suffering a broken arm on Nov. 17 in an in-game collision with Bobrovsky, the 24-year-old forward initially returned to practice on Jan. 1 prior to the Winter Classic.
Claimed off waivers on Oct. 3, Schwindt has scored two goals in 10 games this season.
Maurice said that Schwindt will travel and could possibly return during the road trip.
“It’s awesome,” Verhaeghe said of Panthers getting healthy. “Those guys are a huge part of our team. To see how hard they’ve worked in the gym to get into the position they’re in now and close to returning, it’s awesome. We need them back, and we’re looking forward to it.”
ERIKSSON TO PLAY FOR GOLD
Linus Eriksson will be playing for gold.
After scoring the opening goal in Sweden’s 4-3 shootout win over Finland in the semifinals on Sunday, the Panthers prospect will now face Czechia in the championship game of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship on Monday in St. Paul, Minnesota.
With puck drop set for 8:30 p.m. ET, the game can be seen on NHL Network.
Selected by the Panthers second round (58th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft, Eriksson has registered a goal, an assist and a plus-4 plus/minus rating in six games at the tournament.
A key player, he’s seen at least 17 minutes of ice time in each of the last three games.
Sweden last won gold at the World Juniors in 2012.
