With the battle for first place in the Central Division heating up, the Panthers are expected to get a boost from a few new faces when they battle the rival Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Thursday.
Added prior the NHL's trade deadline, Nikita Gusev, Lucas Wallmark and Brandon Montour will all be injected into the lineup for the Panthers (27-12-4) as they look to break out of a three-way tie with the Lightning (28-12-3) and Hurricanes (27-10-4) for the coveted top spot in the division.
Preview: Newcomers Hit the Ice as Panthers Battle Rival Lightning
Stepping into the national spotlight, tonight's game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.
"It's going to be a tough game here," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "Whether we've got momentum or not, we know we've got to be at our best. We've got some new guys, a different look. I don't want to say we're going to be experimenting tonight. We want to make sure we have that playoff mentality. It's great playing meaningful games against the best teams."
Put in a great position to succeed right off the bat, Gusev will line up alongside all-world center Aleksander Barkov on Florida's top line in his debut. A highly-skilled offensive player, Gusev, a former MVP in the KHL, produced 44 points in his first NHL season with New Jersey in 2019-20.
Prior to taking his talents to North America, the 28-year-old forward was nearly a point-per-game player in the KHL, recording 332 points (119 goals, 213 assists) in 391 career games.
"I'm happy to be here," said Gusev, who signed with the Panthers as a free agent after having the final year of his contract bought out by the Devils. "I'm ready to play. I need to play great."
Kicking off his second tour of duty with the Panthers, Wallmark, who already had a cup of coffee in South Florida after being first acquired at last year's deadline, had registered three assists in 16 games this season with the Blackhawks, who he joined as a free agent during the offseason.
Given that he spent nine total games with the Panthers last season - including suiting up in a pair of games during the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers - Wallmark already feels right at home.
"I'm super happy to come back here," said Wallmark, a versatile forward that will be playing at center against the Lightning tonight in his first game back with his old club. "Last time I was here I had a great time. I like everyone here. I'm just super happy to come back and really excited."
Playing on the right side of the blue line, Montour compiled 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 39 games with the Sabres before being dealt to the Panthers. Looking at this numbers, it's possible he also sees some time on the penalty kill, where he's scored two goals this season.
"These guys are having success and doing well this year, so I just want to join that and keep the train rolling," said Montour, who's posted 105 points (29 goals, 76 assists) in 281 career NHL games. "The playoffs are around the corner. I'm just having that itch to get back in."
With these new players in the mix, the Cats hope to build off a 3-2 win in Dallas on Tuesday in which Frank Vatrano - aka Mr. Clutch - buried a one-timer in overtime to seal the deal. Radko Gudas and Aleksander Barkov also scored in the victory, while Chris Driedger made 24 saves.
Returning to the cage tonight, Driedger will draw back in against the Lightning. Owning a 12-5-2 record with a .930 save percentage, the 26-year-old is 4-1-0 with a .950 save percentage over his last five starts while never allowing more than two goals to get past him in that torrid stretch.
"We're going to have fresh bodies meet us in Tampa," Driedger said after picking up the win against the Stars, which helped the Panthers snap out of a three-game losing streak. "That'll spark the boys."
Looking to bounce back after a 7-2 loss in Nashville on Tuesday, the Lightning have dropped three of their last five games. In the loss, Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde each lit the lamp for Tampa Bay, which surrendered three goals in the first period to fall into a very quick 3-0 hole.
In net, Curtis McElhinney surrendered seven goals on 22 shots.
"You could bring back Dominik Hasek or Marty Brodeur or Patrick Roy," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Nobody's stopping the chances we gave up tonight. And so that was the tough part for me is we left our guy out to dry, and I think that's what the guys are a little down about."
A front-runner for the Norris Trophy, Victor Hedman leads Tampa Bay and ranks second among the league's defensemen in scoring with 38 points (seven goals, 31 assists). Next up, Point and Ondrej Palat are tied for second on the team with 35 points each, while Steven Stamkos has 34.
Also tied with Point for the most goals with 17, Stamkos will miss tonight's game with an injury.
Sliding back between the pipes, Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to get the start for the Lightning. Leading the league in save percentage (.932) and tied for the most victories (25), the 26-year-old goaltender has gone 1-1-0 with a .919 save percentage against the Panthers this season.
In four games against Tampa Bay this season, Florida boasts a 2-2-0 record.
"A dangerous, dangerous opponent for all the reasons and, coming off a tough one, you know they're going to more than ready," Quenneville said of the Bolts. "With the standings, this has the meaning of more than just a regular-season game. We expect that type of an effort."
TEAM RECORDS
FLA:27-12-4, 58 PTS
TBL:28-12-2, 58 PTS
FLA all-time vs. TBL:68-48-10-16
PANTHERS NOTES
-- Aleksander Barkov leads Florida in points (44), goals (18) and shots on goal (133). Filling up the back of the net in recent weeks, he's produced a whopping 10 goals over his last 12 games.
-- Jonathan Huberdeau ranks second on the Panthers in scoring with 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists). In 35 career games against the Lightning, he's tallied 34 points (11 goals 23 assists).
-- MacKenzie Weegar ranks tied for second among NHL defensemen in even-strength points with 23. Over his last six games, he's notched five points to push his career-high total to 25.
-- Patric Hornqvist ranks fifth on the Panthers in goals (12), including seven on the power play. With just two more points, he will reach the 30-point mark for the eighth consecutive season.
-- Frank Vatrano sits tied for third on the Panthers in goals with 14. He also leads the club in overtime goals (3) and game-winning goals (5). Over his last seven games, he has four goals.
-- Alex Wennberg has posted eight points (six goals, two assists) over his last 16 games, including scoring the first hat trick of his career during a 5-2 win over Columbus on April 3.
-- Radko Gudas leads the Panthers and ranks second in the NHL in hits with 190.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Mason Marchment - Aleksander Barkov - Nikita Gusev
Jonathan Huberdeau - Alex Wennberg - Anthony Duclair
Frank Vatrano - Lucas Wallmark - Patric Hornqvist
Juho Lammikko - Noel Acciari - Owen Tippett
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling - MacKenzie Weegar
Keith Yandle - Radko Gudas
Markus Nutivaara - Brandon Montour
Goaltenders
Chris Driedger
Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratches: Ryan Lomberg, Matt Kiersted, Noah Juulsen, Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Stralman, Spencer Knight, Carter Verhaeghe (upper body)
Taxi squad: Kevin Connauton, Lucas Carlsson, Aleksi Heponiemi, Philippe Desrosiers, Brady Keeper Injured reserve: Aaron Ekblad (lower body)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- April 15: D Brandon Montour and D Noah Juulsen were activated to Florida's active roster.
- April 13: F Sam Bennett and F Nikita Gusev were added to Florida's to active roster; F Anthony Duclair was activated from IR; F Lucas Wallmark and G Spencer Knight were recalled from the Taxi Squad; D Kevin Connauton was loaned to the Taxi Squad.
- April 12: The Panthers acquired F Sam Bennett and 2022 sixth-round pick from Calgary in exchange for F Emil Heineman and a 2022 second-round pick.
- April 11: The Panthers signed F Nikita Gusev to a one-year contract.
- April 10: Florida added D Brandon Montour from Buffalo in exchange for 2021 third-round pick; D Kevin Connauton was recalled from Taxi Squad and D Brady Keeper was loaned to the Taxi Squad.
- April 8: The Panthers acquired F Lucas Wallmark and D Lucas Carlsson from Chicago in exchange for F Brett Connolly, F Henrik Borgstrom, D Riley Stillman and a 2021 seventh-round pick.
HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN
When: Thursday, April 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Amalie Arena - Tampa, FL
TV:NBC Sports Network
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 107.9 FM/1370 AM WZTA (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Streaming 932
Pre-Game Listen:Check out the first episode of "Around the NHL," featuring interviews with TSN's Ray Ferraro and ESPN's Emily Kaplan!
