SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will close the book on their season when they host the Detroit Red Wings at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.
Even though injuries derailed their hopes of completing an elusive threepeat, the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions know this is just a bump in the road.
“Not the year that anybody wanted individually or collectively, but there's a whole lot we can learn from this year,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said of the team’s frustrating 2025-26 campaign. “Definitely a down year for everybody. It sucks, but it’s going to have to motivate us to come back stronger next year.”
After celebrating the birth of his first child – a baby girl named Camille – Tkachuk will return to the lineup tonight.
"It was the greatest day of my life,” said Tkachuk, who joins an ever-growing group of young dads in Florida’s locker room. “Millie and Momma were rock stars. Once we got back home, it really hit. It's been absolutely amazing. It's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me."
But just as one player returns, two more go out.
After already missing much of the season following knee surgery in the summer, Tomas Nosek broke his leg during Monday’s 3-2 win over the New York Rangers.
Additionally, Gustav Forsling, a rock on the team’s battered blue line, will sit due to a back injury.
Filling in for Forsling, Mikulas Hovorka was recalled from the AHL.
An unlucky season like no other, the Panthers will end the season approaching 600 man games lost due to injury.
“Outside of the real world, playing for the Panthers has been the most dangerous job in pro sports,” head coach Paul Maurice said.
But even with so many of their stars sidelined, the Panthers have still managed to power through.
Leading the Panthers to victory against the Rangers, Mackie Samoskevich lit the lamp for the sixth time in his last nine games, while Cole Reinhardt scored twice to extend his goal-scoring streak to three games. Between the pipes, Daniil Tarasov, who will man the crease against the Red Wings, made 25 saves.
Doing right by their fans down the stretch, the Panthers have won eight of their last 10 games in Sunrise.
“We’ve been playing well these last few games,” Samoskevich said. “Especially in front of our home fans, the last two games were about them. They’ve been with us all year throughout the highs and lows, so ending on a good one for them is huge.”
After spending much of the season in a playoff spot, the Red Wings endured a second-half collapse.
As it stands, the boys from the Motor City now hold the longest active playoff drought at 10 straight seasons.
After winning consecutive games on March 16 and 19, the Red Wings have gone 3-7-2 since then, while being outscored 45-37.
Last time out, Detroit erased a 3-1 deficit in the third period, but still fell 4-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime.
David Perron, Marco Kasper and Alex DeBrincat scored in the loss, while Cam Talbot stopped 18 of 22 shots.
DeBrincat leads the Red Wings in goals (41) and points (84), with Lucas Raymond ranking second in points (76) and first in assists (51).
Third on the team in scoring, Dylan Larkin, who missed time in March with an injury, sits third on the team with 67 points (34G, 33A).
Expected to get the nod in net against the Panthers, John Gibson has handled the bulk of the workload between the pipes for the Red Wings this season, posting a 29-21-4 record with a 2.67 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage and four shutouts.
Meeting for the fourth and final time this season, the Panthers have gone 2-1-0 against the Red Wings thus far.
In their last head-to-head battle on March 10, the Panthers earned a 4-3 over Detroit at Amerant Bank Arena.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Panthers boast an 11-2-1 record against the Red Wings in Sunrise.
“We’re going to come back ready to roll next year,” Tkachuk said. “Guys are going to be healthy. We’ve got a really, really good team.”
THEY SAID IT
“We’re not invincible. Yeah, we’ve dealt with some crazy things this year, but just because we won the last two [Stanley Cups] doesn’t mean we’re going to come in here and just ease our way into playoffs. The hardest part that I’ve learned over the last few years is just making the playoffs.” – Matthew Tkachuk
“I think it (this summer) will be big for me. A little bit of time off, but not too much. A long summer will be big for me to get stronger and stay on the ice. Just learning some new things and maturing a little more.” – Mackie Samoskevich
“The next guy goes down, and the next guy goes down, and then you’re just scratching and clawing. You’re playing .500 hockey, but you go from five guys out to 10 guys out, and now we’re over 14. You know at that point it's over. As soon as that happens, you’re going, ‘How do we take the next step? How do we take this and turn it into something special for next year?’” – Paul Maurice
FIVE CATS STATS
- Mackie Samoskevich needs one more point to set a new career high (32).
- Seven different Panthers have made their NHL debut this season.
- A.J. Greer has produced a +6 plus/minus rating in April.
- The Panthers rank 10th in the NHL on the penalty kill at 80.7%.
- Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida with five points (3G, 2A) against Detroit this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Mackie Samoskevich – Eetu Luostarinen – Matthew Tkachuk
Wilmer Skoog – Cole Schwindt – A.J. Greer
Nolan Foote – Jesper Boqvist – Noah Gregor
Cole Reinhardt – Luke Kunin – Vinnie Hinostroza
DEFENSEMEN
Tobias Bjornfot – Mike Benning
Donovan Sebrango – Marek Alscher
Mikulas Hovorka – Ludvig Jansson
GOALIES
Daniil Tarasov
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- April 15: D Mikulas Hovorka recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 11: F Wilmer Skoog recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 9: D Marek Alscher and D Ludvig Jansson recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 5: D Mikulas Hovorka loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Wednesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 104.3 WQAM-FM (Dade/Broward); 106.3 WESP-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH-FM (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR-FM (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM 219App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click here
