CALGARY – The Florida Panthers will close the book on their four-game road trip with a clash against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday.
On the first half of their back-to-back in Alberta, the Panthers looked dominant in a 4-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Thursday.
Despite being hampered injuries all season and sitting outside of the playoff picture at 34-31-3, the Panthers reminded the NHL they’re still the back-to-back champs.
Cole Reinhardt, A.J. Greer, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe all scored for the Panthers, who also went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill against Edmonton’s top-ranked power play.
Helping limit Art Ross Trophy front-runner Connor McDavid and the Oilers to just 21 shots on goal, Florida’s defensive group of Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, Seth Jones, Niko Mikkola and Dmitry Kulikov all shared the blue line in a game for the first time since Oct. 9
"I'm so happy for them,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “It's been a grind. It's been so hard. That's the best defensive corps that we've put on the ice since two minutes in Game 2 of the season. You see what those five guys (defensemen) can do.”
New to the team’s defensive corps and playing in front of his friends and family in his hometown of Edmonton, Mike Benning, suiting up in just his fourth NHL game, dished out two primary assists and was named the first star of the game for the Panthers.
In four games, Florida has led 67-45 in 5-on-5 shot attempts when Benning is on the ice.
"Mike Benning played just a fantastic game,” Maurice said.
Continuing to climb the league’s all-time leaderboard, Sergei Bobrovsky stood on his head against the Oilers, stopping all 21 shots he faced to record the 454th win of his NHL career.
As it stands now, he’s tied with Curtis Joseph for the seventh-most wins in NHL history.
“It's a great achievement,” Bobrovsky said. “You look at the goalies on the list, and I couldn’t dream about to be in the same category with them. I still don't believe."
With no morning skate, tonight’s lineup remains up in the air.
Stay tuned for updates following Maurice’s pregame media availability.
But with Bobrovsky manning the crease in Edmonton, it’s likely that Daniil Tarasov finishes off the back-to-back against the Flames. In 23 appearances this season, Tarasov has posted a 9-11-2 record with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage.
Seventh in the Pacific Division with a record of 27-34-7, the Flames have lost eight of their last 11 games, but enter tonight’s tilt on the heels of a 2-1 shootout win over the Blues on Wednesday.
Connor Zary scored Calgary’s lone goal in regulation, while Devin Cooley stopped 25 of 26 shots to earn first-star honors against St. Louis. In the shootout, Joel Farabee and Matvei Gridin scored for the Flames, while Cooley turned aside the only two shots he faced.
In the midst of a rebuild, three of Calgary’s current top-eight scorers won’t take the ice against the Panthers. The team’s top-scoring forward Nazem Kadri (41 points) and top-scoring defenseman Rasmus Andersson (30 points) have both been traded away.
As for former Panthers, Jonathan Huberdeau (25 points) is done for the season due to a hip injury, while Mackenize Weegar (21 points) was dealt to the Utah Mammoth.
Ryan Lomberg, still a fan-favorite in Florida and member of the team’s run to the Stanley Cup in 2024, remains with the Flames and has nine points (4G, 5A) in 56 games.
Cooley and Dustin Wolf have both seen time in Calgary’s net this season. Wolf has gone 19-25-3 with a .897 save percentage, while Cooley, despite seeing nearly half the number of starts, has gone 8-9-4 with a .915 save percentage.
At the time of this writing, the Flames have yet to announce a starter.
Meeting for the second and final time this season, the Flames earned a 5-3 win over the Panthers in their previous meeting back on Nov. 28 at Amerant Bank Arena.
THEY SAID IT
“They were great. We were on the same page. The guys had great sticks, great reads. Again, it’s a fun game to play.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on Florida’s penalty killers in Edmonton
“It’s not so much about the points, but rather playing good hockey, being confident and gaining trust with the players and coaches. I’ll keep on going through that.” – Mike Benning on his first taste of the NHL
FIVE CATS STATS
- Carter Verhaeghe has recorded five straight 20-goal seasons.
- Matthew Tkachuk has tallied three points (2G, 1A) over his last two games.
- Anton Lundell is one goal away from reaching a new career-high mark of 19.
- Sam Bennett’s 53 points this season are a new career-high.
- Paul Maurice is two games away from his 2,000th behind the bench in the NHL.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Check back closer to puck drop.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- March 15: F Nolan Foote recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- March 12: D Mike Benning recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- March 7: F Sandis Vilmanis and D Tobias Bjornfot loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Friday, March 20 at 9 p.m. ET
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome – Calgary, AB
TV & Streaming: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 106.3 WESP-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Cats on Tap: Find a Bar
