MONTREAL – The injury bug keeps on biting.
The latest key player to go down, Brad Marchand will not suit up for the Florida Panthers when they face-off against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
Marchand, who leads the Panthers in scoring with 46 points (23G, 23A), did not play in the third period of Tuesday’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs due to a lingering issue that head coach Paul Maurice said the team wanted to get out ahead of.
Thankfully just listed as day to day, Marchand could be back as early as next game.
“He might be our only short-term injury,” Maurice said.
While Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk and Cole Schwindt should all be back in action in the near future for the Panthers, captain Aleksander Barkov, forwards Jonah Gadjovich and Tomas Nosek, and defensemen Seth Jones and Dmitry Kulikov aren’t close to returning.
But even with that adversity, the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions sit at 22-17-3 in the standings and reside just two points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“To humble yourself to play the hardest, basic, most-simple game,” Maurice said of trying to win with so many players out. “To become an underdog when you have eight guys out of your lineup, that’s going to happen. … It’s a challenge. I’m really pleased with what they’ve done. We’ve had a long run of playoff teams recently, and we’ve played OK.”
With Marchand unavailable, A.J. Greer will move up from the third to the second line, while Jesper Boqvist will come up from the fourth to the third. Coming back into the lineup on the fourth line will be Jack Studnicka, who had been a healthy scratch against the Maple Leafs.
In net, Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start.
“Just keep things simple,” Greer said. “It’s an intimidating building. When you come here, especially after a loss, you have to dial it back in and focus on the things that you do best.”
Sitting at 24-13-6 and trailing the Tampa Bay Lightning by just one point for first place in the Atlantic Division, the surging Canadiens have posted a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 games.
Less than 24 hours ago, the Canadiens cruised to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames in the first half of their current back-to-back behind a three-point game from Alexandre Texier.
After a scoreless first period, Texier scored to spark a three-goal second for Montreal.
Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with 47 points (14G, 33A) and has cracked the scoresheet in 19 of his last 24 games. Not slowing down after winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie last year, defenseman Lane Hutson is second with 43 points (8G, 35).
Leading the team with 21 goals, Cole Caufield has scored four in his last seven games.
After Jacob Fowler got the start against Calgary, Sam Montembeault or Jakub Dobes could start for Montreal. Both seeing ample time in net this season, Montembeault has posted a 7-6-1 record with a .865 save percentage, while Dobes has gone 13-5-3 with a .889 save percentage.
Last meeting on Dec. 30, the Panthers let a late lead slip away in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens. Trailing 2-0, Caufield cut Montreal’s deficit in half with a goal at 15:33 of the third period, and then Suzuki netted the equalizer with just 1:22 left.
On the power play in the extra frame, Suzuki scored the game-winning goal.
“He’s so smart,” forward Sam Reinhart said of Suzuki, who will be his teammate with Canada at the upcoming Olympics. “He’s so good all over the ice. He plays with some wingers that can put the puck in the net, and he distributes it so well. The better he goes, the better their team goes.”
THEY SAID IT
“Montreal is an evolving, changing, highly-skilled team. We’re still learning how to play against them.” – Paul Maurice
“A team like this with this much skill and this much speed, if you give them time and space they’re going to make plays. You have to play a fast game tonight.” – Sam Reinhart
“It’s always exciting to play here. I think everyone’s got a little extra jump.” – A.J. Greer
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sam Reinhart has 17 points (7G, 10A) in 16 games vs. Montreal with Florida.
- Since Nov. 22, Sam Bennett has recorded 24 points (10G, 14A) in 22 games.
- The Panthers rank seventh in the NHL with 29.4 shots on goal per game.
- Aaron Ekblad has blocked a team-high 68 shots.
- The Panthers own a 13-4-2 record when scoring first this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – A.J. Greer
Jesper Boqvist – Evan Rodrigues – Mackie Samoskevich
Noah Gregor – Luke Kunin – Jack Studnicka
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis
Donovan Sebrango – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Jan. 4: D Tobias Bjornfot was recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Bell Centre – Montreal, QC
TV & Streaming: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 104.3 WQAM-HD2 (Dade/Broward); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Watch Party: Funky Buddha Brewery
