After missing three games due to an injury, Sergei Bobrovsky will return to the crease when the Panthers continue their road trip against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night.
Off to an exceptional start this season, Bobrovsky, who served as a backup in Tuesday's loss to the Devils, owns a 6-0-0 record with a 1.72 goals-against average and .948 save percentage. In his seven appearances this season (six starts), he's surrendered more than two goals just once.
PREVIEW: Bobrovsky Returns as Panthers Visit Penguins
"We're excited to have him back," Panthers Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette said of Bobrovsky, a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy. "He's playing at such a high level, kinda that Vezina-quality that historically you're used to seeing him play. It's fun to get him back."
Hoping to get a boost from Bobrovsky's return, the Panthers are looking to get back in the win column after dropping the first two games of their four-game road trip. Following an outstanding 10-0-1 start, they've since lost back-to-back games against the Rangers (4-3) and Devils (7-3).
That being said, their 10-2-1 record still places them first in the entire league.
"It's a tough league, especially when you're on a back-to-back," Brunette said. "We kind of chased in those games. It's something we've got to clean up. In both games there was lots of good there, but to me it was just a little bit of [needing to improve] that game management."
Like Brunette said, there's certainly a lot to like when you look at the numbers over the last two games. Against the Rangers and Devils, the Cats led 81-34 in scoring chances at 5-on-5, but were pretty much undone by a combination of bad luck and a few too many costly mistakes.
Still ranking second in the league on offense (4.00 goals per game) and seventh on defense (2.62 goals allowed per game), the Panthers aren't dwelling on either loss heading into tonight.
"We've just got to forget these two games," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, who passed Olli Jokinen's record of 188 goals to become the franchise's all-time leader in that category on Tuesday, said after the defeat in New Jersey. "We'll just get our head straight and move on."
Riding a seven-game point streak, Barkov ranks first on the Panthers in scoring with 14 points (eight goals, six assists). Just behind him in second place, Anthony Duclair (eight goals, five assists) and Jonathan Huberdeau (three goals, 10 assists) have each compiled 13 points.
Due to last season's pandemic-altered schedule, this contest will also mark Patric Hornqvist's first game back in the Steel City since he was traded to the Panthers in September of 2020.
A two-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Penguins (2016, 2017), Hornqvist should receive a nice ovation from the home crowd. In addition to scoring 132 regular-season goals during his six seasons in Pittsburgh, he also famously scored the team's Stanley Cup-clinching goal in 2017.
"It feels great to be back," said Hornqvist, who has tallied 15 goals over 57 games with Florida. "I played good hockey in this city, and this city took really good care of me. We won two Cups. There's a lot of emotion obviously, but we also have to get back to our game here tonight."
Off to a slow start this season, the Penguins have lost six of their last eight games, including a 3-2 shootout loss at Chicago on Tuesday. Against the Blackhawks, Jeff Carter scored a pair of goals, Jake Guentzel dished out two assists, and Tristan Jarry stopped 30 of 32 shots in net.
Sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 4-3-4, Pittsburgh's slow start is likely due in part to the team's struggles to stay healthy. Already missing Evgeni Malkin (lower-body), the team has had several players enter the league's COVID-19 protocol in recent weeks.
Not expected to suit up against the Panthers, Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin have both been in COVID-19 protocol since Nov. 3. Chad Ruhwedel and Marcus Pettersson, however, both returned to practice on Wednesday after entering COVID-19 protocol back on Oct. 31.
"Certainly, they're headed in the right direction," said Penguins assistant coach Todd Reirden, who has been handling coaching duties with Mike Sullivan also in COVID-19 protocol. "And I hope for their sake and the ones in their family that are around them that, hopefully, they are over the hump here in terms of dealing with some tough times that are going on health-wise."
Fueling Pittsburgh's ninth-ranked offense (3.18 goals per game), Guentzel leads the team in scoring with eight points (three goals, five assists). Locked in a four-way tie for second, Danton Heinen, Kasperi Kapanen, Evan Rodrigues and Carter have notched seven points of their own.
Drawing in against the Panthers on home ice, Jarry, who is 1-1-0 in his career against Florida, is expected to make his fifth straight start for the Penguins. Appearing in nine games this season, the 26-year-old has gone 4-2-3 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.
In their only other meeting this season -- Florida's season-opening contest on Oct. 14 -- Carter Verhaeghe beat Casey DeSmith in overtime to lift the Panthers to a 5-4 win over the Penguins.
PANTHERS NOTES
- Aaron Ekblad ranks tied for first among NHL defensemen in goals (4) and tied for 10th in points (10). Consistently contributing on offense, he's posted at least one point in eight of 13 contests.
- The Panthers ranked second in the NHL with 127 takeaways, including a team-high 15 from Aleksander Barkov. Overall, six different players have recorded at least 10 takeaways thus far.
- MacKenzie Weegar leads Florida in blocked shots (29) and sits second in hits (41).
- Carter Verhaeghe has multi-assist performances in two of his last three outings.
- Gustav Forsling is tied for second among NHL defensemen with 10 assists.
- Anton Lundell ranks first among NHL forwards with an average of 3:23 of shorthanded ice time per game. In nine games this season, the rookie has also notched three goals and three assists.
- Eetu Luostarinen has scored four goals over his last seven games.
- Florida has scored at least three goals in 12 of 13 games this season.
- The Panthers need one more win for their 900th as a franchise.
PANTHERS LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Anthony Duclair
Jonathan Huberdeau - Sam Bennett - Owen Tippett
Frank Vatrano - Anton Lundell - Sam Reinhart
Ryan Lomberg - Eetu Luostarinen - Patric Hornqvist
Defensemen
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Gustav Forsling - Radko Gudas
Kevin Connauton - Brandon Montour
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Nov. 10: G Christopher Gibson loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Nov. 9: F Sam Bennett activated off IR; F Mason Marchment placed on IR
- Nov. 7: D Chase Priskie reassigned to Charlotte (AHL); D Lucas Carlsson recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
RECENT ARTICLES / PODCASTS
HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN
When: Thursday, Nov. 11 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where:PPG Paints Arena - Pittsburgh, PA
TV:Bally Sports Florida
Stream:Bally Sports App, ESPN+
Radio:99.9 WKIS-FM HD-2 (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932
