SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will have two fresh faces on their blue line when they host the Boston Bruins at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
With Aaron Ekblad (broken finger) and Dmitry Kulikov (broken nose) both injured during Tuesday’s win over the Ottawa Senators, Tobias Bjornfot and Mikulas Hovorka were recalled from the AHL on Wednesday.
Both will suit up against Boston.
A steady veteran, Bjornfot has appeared in 11 games with the Panthers this season, logging three points (2G, 1A). Making his NHL debut during a one-game stint with Florida on Feb. 5, Hovorka has set career-highs in goals (4), assists (12) and points (16) in the AHL this year.
“It’s nothing but excitement,” Hovorka said. “I can’t wait to play my first home game [in the NHL]. I’m just excited. A lot of guys from Charlotte are in here, so that’s a good start. I just want to show my game. Big guy, so bring the physicality. Show the good parts of my game.”
Prior to being called up, Bjornfot and Hovorka were Charlotte’s top defensive pair.
“They’ve played about 15-20 games together,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “There’s some familiarity there, which is really important. With a young guy coming up, having someone beside you on the bench that’s constantly talking to you, keeping you in the game, it helps you not feel alone out there. You have constant feedback on the bench.”
Snapping out of a three-game slide, the Panthers raced out to an early lead and never took their foot off the gas in a 6-3 win over the Senators. Setting a franchise record for fastest goal to start a game, Noah Gregor lit the lamp just eight seconds after the puck had dropped.
Matthew Tkachuk led the Panthers with four points (1G, 3A) and earned first-star honors, while Carter Verhaeghe (2G, 1A) and Seth Jones (3A) also had big games. On fire, Tkachuk, who’s feeling like his old self, has produced eight points (4G, 4A) over his last four games.
Overall, the Panthers are hoping for a similar – even if it’s not historic – start tonight.
“For sure, a good start,” said forward Tomas Nosek, who picked up an assist on Gregor’s early strike. “I’m not going to say if it was a set play or not – just kidding. We just need to focus on every shift and be ready from the start. We know what they’re playing for.”
On track to make the playoffs, the Bruins (43-24-8) hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, while also sitting just two points out of second place in the Atlantic Division.
Extending their winning streak to four games, the Bruins enter tonight’s matchup looking to build of a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. Fueling Boston’s attack during the win, David Pastrnak dished out three assists, while Viktor Arvidsson touched twine three times.
Over their last seven games, the Bruins have outscored opponents 31-19.
Sitting atop Boston’s scoring leaderboard, Pastrnak has racked up 95 points (29G, 66A), while Morgan Geekie ranks second with 63 points (34G, 29A). Despite reaching a new career-high in goals, Geekie has been cold as of late, going 14 games without scoring.
Jeremy Swayman has been the main man in net for Boston, posting a 30-15-4 record with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. Backing him up, Joonas Korpisalo boasts a 13-9-4 record on top of a 3.27 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage.
At the time of this writing, Boston has yet to announce a starter.
Meeting for the third and final time this season, the Panthers have gone 2-0-0 against the Bruins this season. After earning a 4-3 win in Boston on Oct. 21, the Panthers fended off a late push to earn a 5-4 shootout win in their next battle with the Bruins on Feb. 4 in Sunrise.
Eetu Luostarinen leads Florida with two goals against the Bruins this season.
“It’s more of a context game for a Boston Bruins than necessarily that heated rivalry,” Maurice said. “I think that heats up very, very quickly. If it gets overly physical tonight, I think it’ll be on. We’ve played so many fantastic games with each other – so hard, so fast.”
THEY SAID IT
“It (my NHL debut) helped me a lot in the head. It gives me more motivation to work harder to get to the level I need to be to play and be an everyday-er in the NHL. It helped a lot.” -- Mikulas Hovorka
“This is an important game for them (the Bruins) for where they are in the standings. We will come into this game tonight, I believe and I hope, in the same manner we came in for the Ottawa Senators game. With a complete respect for how hard they’re going to play against us tonight.” – Paul Maurice
“It doesn’t matter where we are right now. When you get a win, it’s always better. You don’t want to lose. It weighs on you and it’s not fun when you’re losing. When you’re winning, it’s always better and you’re having more fun.” – Tomas Nosek
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers have won six of their last eight games at Amerant Bank Arena.
- Carter Verhaeghe has scored three goals in his last five games.
- A.J. Greer has recorded a team-leading 183 hits.
- The Panthers own a 15-7-0 record when Sam Bennett scores a goal.
- Matthew Tkachuk has registered 10 multi-point games since returning from injury.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Mackie Samoskevich – Eetu Luostarinen – A.J. Greer
Noah Gregor – Tomas Nosek – Jesper Boqvist
Nolan Foote – Luke Kunin – Vinnie Hinostroza
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Seth Jones
Donovan Sebrango – Mike Benning
Tobias Bjornfot – Mikulas Hovorka
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- April 1: D Tobias Bjornfot and D Mikulas Hovorka recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- March 24: F Noah Gregor recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- March 15: F Nolan Foote recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- March 12: D Mike Benning recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, April 2 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 104.3 WQAM-FM/560 WQAM-AM (Dade/Broward); 106.3 WESP-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH-FM (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR-FM (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM 220/App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click here
