Panthers Visit Ducks With Chance to Close Gap in Playoff Race

After weathering a post-break slump, the Florida Panthers have a chance to climb right back into a playoff spot when they visit the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Wednesday night.
Entering today's slate of games, the Panthers (31-22-6) sit just two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (31-22-8) for third place in the Atlantic Division, but also have two games in hand.

"Every game's important, but we've got to focus on Anaheim," Panthers forward Noel Acciari said after Tuesday's practice. "That's all we're focused on. You don't want to get too far ahead."
Coming off a pair of consecutive losses at home, the Panthers opened up a crucial five-game road trip through the Western Conference with a 5-3 win at San Jose Monday afternoon. Five different skaters lit the lamp against the Sharks, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 of 32 shots he faced in net.
Averaging the fifth-most goals per game in the league (3.44), Florida has scored at least five goals 18 times this season, which places them second to only Vancouver (19) in that category.
"We knew we needed that one," said Panthers defenseman Anton Stralman, who scored what would hold up as the game-winning goal late in the third period in San Jose. "Coming off the stretch that we'd been on, we need all the points right now. All in all, I thought that was a pretty good game. Hopefully it's something we can build on and evolve into something even better."
With Monday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline looming, the Panthers have already made a few minor adjustments to their lineup prior to tonight's matchup. After waiving forward Jayce Hawryluk on Sunday, they sent forward Denis Malgin to Toronto for forward Mason Marchment this morning.
Coming up from the AHL to fill the void, forward Aleksi Saarela was recalled from Springfield on Tuesday. Acquired in a trade with Chicago back in October, the 24-year-old suited up in three games with the Panthers in December before being sent back to the AHL for some seasoning.
In 43 games with the Thunderbirds, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound native of Helsinki, Finland has recorded 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists). Starting to really catch fire before his most-recent recall, he posted 16 points over his last 20 games, including netting seven goals in that span.
At Tuesday's practice, Saarela was centering a line with Brett Connolly and Colton Sceviour.
"Obviously he's been playing very well down there," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "His production has been good. Offensively he's got a lot of skill. He's got a tremendous shot. He sees and makes plays well… We'll see how he does. We're going to give him an opportunity to go and see how he helps us out here."
In addition to his offensive skills, Saarela said he's been placing a greater focus on his defense.
"I can score goals, but I've been playing more conscious of both ways, defensively especially," he said. "I know that if I want to be here I've got to be responsible in the defensive zone, too. It's not just offense. That's the biggest thing that I've been focusing on."
Hoping to carve out a full-time spot, Saarela said he's excited to be a part of the playoff push.
"I love it when it matters," said Saarela, who made his NHL debut with Carolina during the playoffs in 2019." That's when I feel like I can play even better. You've got to raise yourself a little bit. You've got to be better. You know every point matters. I'm just trying to help."
The last time the Panthers saw the Ducks, they erased a four-goal deficit to come from behind and steal a win 5-4 in overtime. Aaron Ekblad had a pair of goals in the win, including beating Anaheim goaltender John Gibson 22 seconds into the extra frame to complete the comeback.
Bobrovsky, who picked up the win in that contest, is expected to return to Florida's crease for tonight's rematch, while Gibson will likely get the nod for the Ducks. Bobrovsky owns a 7-6-1 record against Anaheim in his career. Gibson, meanwhile, has gone 3-3-1 against the Panthers.
"I want to see us building on that game against the Sharks," Stralman said. "[Let's] play that simple, hard, straightforward game; not complicate things, limit turnovers and manage the puck real well. [Let's] play to our strength, which is speed."
The Ducks (24-28-7) have points in six of their last eight games (4-2-2) but enter tonight's matchup on the heels of a 6-4 loss in Calgary on Monday. Leading 3-1 in the third period, Anaheim allowed five goals over the final 15:14 of regulation to come up empty handed.
Owning the league's 29th-ranked offense (2.54 goals per game), the Ducks don't have a single player with over 40 points this season. Ryan Getzlaf sits first on the team in scoring with 38 points (12 goals, 26 assists), while Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell have each posted 34.
Adam Henrique leads the team in goals with 21, including four over his last five games.
"Play a fast and simple game," Acciari said. "If we're good in our D zone, the rest will come."
Following tonight's tilt, the Panthers will wrap up the back-to-back set at Los Angeles on Thursday.

PANTHERS NOTES

-- Aleksander Barkov ranks second on the Panthers in scoring with 57 points (17 goals, 40 assists). With an assist in Monday's win at San Jose, the 24-year-old center earned the 250th helper of his career, moving him past Stephen Weiss for the second-most in franchise history.
-- A 2020 NHL All-Star, Jonathan Huberdeau leads Florida and ranks 11th in the league with 71 points (21 goals, 50 assists). The 26-year-old winger also ranks first on the team in assists (50), points, even-strength points (45), power-play points (26) and multi-point performances (20).
-- Evgenii Dadonov leads Florida in goals (24), goals on the road (15) and power-play goals (10). With just two more points, the 30-year-old winger will reach 200 for his NHL career.
-- Mike Hoffman ranks tied for second on the Panthers in goals (22), third in points (47) and first in shots (171). Since Jan. 1, the 30-year-old winger leads the team in scoring with 20 points.
-- Noel Acciari ranks fourth on Florida with a career-high 19 goals. In addition to his offensive numbers, the 28-year-old forward also ranks first among the league's forwards in blocks (87).
-- Keith Yandle ranks first among Panthers defensemen with 41 points (five goals, 36 assists), marking the seventh straight season he's hit the 40-point plateau. The NHL's active "Iron Man," the 33-year-old is expected to suit up in his 857th consecutive regular-season game tonight.
-- Vincent Trocheck leads Florida in takeaways (47) and sits third on the team in hits (79).
-- Aaron Ekblad ranks second among Panthers defensemen in scoring with 34 points, including a career-high 29 assists. With two assists in Monday's win over the Sharks, the 24-year-old overtook Jay Bouwmeester for the second-most points by a blueliner in franchise history (205).

PROJECTED LINEUP (NO MORNING SKATE)

Forwards
Jonathan Huberdeau - Aleksander Barkov - Noel Acciari
Mike Hoffman - Vincent Trocheck - Mark Pysyk
Frank Vatrano - Dominic Toninato - Evgenii Dadonov
Brett Connolly - Aleksi Saarela - Colton Sceviour
Defensemen
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Riley Stillman - Anton Stralman
Keith Yandle - Josh Brown
Goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky
Sam Montembeault
Scratches: Brian Boyle (upper-body), Mike Matheson (illness)
Injured Reserve: Chris Driedger (lower-body)

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• Feb. 19: F Mason Marchment was acquired from Toronto in exchange for F Denis Malgin.
  - Feb. 18: F Aleksi Saarela was recalled from AHL Springfield.
  - Feb. 17: F Jayce Hawryluk was claimed on waivers by Ottawa.
  - Jan. 30: G Sam Montembeault and D Riley Stillman were recalled from AHL Springfield.

HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN

When:Wednesday, Feb. 19, 10:00 p.m. ET
Where: Honda Center - Anaheim, CA
TV: FSF
Stream: FOX Sports GO
Radio:790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys) 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Streaming 932
Territory on Tap Locations:
HERE