SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers are expected to have two key pieces back on the ice when they host the Arizona Coyotes at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday.
Per head coach Paul Maurice, both captain Aleksander Barkov (lower body) and defenseman Gustav Forsling (addition to the family) should be in the lineup tonight.
Barkov has missed the last four games, while Forsling only missed the last game.
“I’m exceptionally confident,” Maurice said of the potential returns.
Climbing the coaching leaderboard, Maurice is set to coach in his 1,813th game tonight, which will move him past Barry Trotz (1,812) for second place on the NHL’s all-time list.
“What’s great about this job is that it’s different every day,” said Maurice, who also ranks sixth in all-time wins (845). “My experience has taught me never to feel like I have a whole lot of experience because the environments change every day. … We all have our core beliefs on the game and those things never really change. But the style of game changes all the time. Maybe experience has taught me you’re still a rookie.”
Snapping out of a four-game losing streak, the Panthers improved to 28-14-4 with a 4-1 win at Nashville on Monday. Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Brandon Montour and Matthew Tkachuk all scored in the win, while Anthony Stolarz stopped 26 of 27 shots.
“It was big for our group,” Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said. “I don’t think we were playing necessarily that bad, but when the losses start to mount you start press a little bit and grip your stick. It was nice to get that win and get back on track.”
On a 10-game point streak, Reinhart’s goal was his team-leading 34th of the season, which set a new career-high mark. Tied for third in the NHL in scoring since Jan. 1 with 18 points, Tkachuk has made a dent on the scoresheet in 11 of his last 12 contests.
Called up from the AHL, rookie Mackie Samoskevich looked strong in his first taste of NHL action since October. With his feet constantly moving, he fired off three shots on goal over 9:30 of ice time in Nashville. In that time, the Panthers controlled 80% of shot attempts.
“It felt great,” said Samoskevich, who is expected to remain in the lineup tonight even with Barkov’s return. “It was nice to be back with these guys. To get a win, too, was nice. It was a long time coming. To get back [here], it’s nice to be around it, for sure.”
After backing up Stolarz in the Music City, Sergei Bobrovsky will get the nod in net against the Coyotes. Heading to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game with Reinhart, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has gone 21-10-2 with a .908 save percentage this season.
In addition to Maurice, another Cat will also hit a lofty milestone tonight.
Aaron Ekblad is expected to skate in his 655th career game with the Panthers, moving him past Stephen Weiss (654) for third on the franchise’s all-time list. Additionally, he’s one assist away from setting a new franchise record for assists by a defenseman (230).
On the cusp of the playoff picture in the Western Conference at 23-19-3, the Coyotes have won each of their last two games. In their last outing, Connor Ingram stopped 25 of 27 shots to backstop the Coyotes to a 5-2 win over the Penguins on Monday.
Jason Zucker, Juuso Valimaki, Alexander Kerfoot, Lawson Crosue and Nick Bjugstad all scored against Pittsburgh, which had beaten Arizona in each of the 11 previous games.
An all-star this season, Clayton Keller leads the Coyotes in scoring with 42 points (19 goals, 23 assists). Matias Maccelli is second with 31 points (seven goals, 24 assists), while Lawson Crouse and Nick Schmaltz are locked in a tie for third with 28 points.
Possibly facing the Panthers, Ingram sits at 17-9-1 with a .919 save percentage.
At the time of this writing, Arizona has yet to announce a starter.
Facing off for the second time this season, the Panthers earned a 4-1 win at Arizona on Jan. 2. Verhaeghe, Forsling, Reinhart and Tkachuk all lit the lamp against the Coyotes, while Bobrovsky made 21 saves.
In that game, Nick Cousins was injured after being boarded by Zucker, who was was given a three-game suspension for the incident.
In the NHL's concussion protocol ever since that incident, Cousins finally shed his no-contact jersey this morning.
“He hasn’t passed through [protocol], I believe, but it’s good he’s in contact,” Maurice said.
PREGAME QUOTES
“Sam Reinhart is every bit unique because of his ability to read the game defensively and still produce. He knows when there’s danger on the ice and something bad is about to happen. He reacts, but he rarely creates that.” – Paul Maurice
“I got to play a lot of hockey. I got to learn from mistakes and stuff like that. I think it’s all about confidence. I got to gain some [in the AHL] and bring some up here.” – Mackie Samoskevich
“We know a lot of the teams we are facing are bubble teams that are just in or just out of it. They’re just like Panthers were last year. You need those wins going into the break. The teams we’re playing against are going to come out strong.” – Evan Rodrigues
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sam Reinhart leads the NHL in power-play goals (17).
- Gustav Forsling ranks third in the NHL with a +32 plus/minus rating.
- Carter Verhaeghe has posted multiple points in eight of his last 14 games.
- Aaron Ekblad owns a team-leading 62.23 xGF% at 5-on-5.
- The Panthers rank fifth in the NHL with 2.61 goals allowed per game.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk
Evan Rodrigues - Aleksander Barkov - Mackie Samoskevich
Jonah Gadjovich - Kevin Stenlund - Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Jan. 21: F Mackie Samoskevich recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Jan. 20: F Rasmus Asplund loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Jan. 17: F Rasmus Asplund recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH
When: Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 96.5 WPOW-FM HD-2 (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Channel 219 / App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: HERE
