SUNRISE, Fla. – Needing to gain some ground in the standings, the Florida Panthers will have a playoff-like mentality against the Buffalo Sabres at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.
With three games left to play before the break, the Panthers sit at 28-23-3 and enter tonight’s matchup eight points behind the Sabres for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“Take it day by day,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “At the end of the day, we know how to play a playoff brand of hockey, and we have to do it sooner rather than later. That’s the kind of mindset we’re trying to bring to every game – find that playoff brand as soon as possible.”
Following a three-game winning streak with three straight losses, the Panthers enter tonight’s tilt looking to rebound from a 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
Despite mustering only five shots on goal in the third period, the Jets scored twice in the final frame, including the game-winner from Mark Scheifele with 4:14 left in regulation.
In each of their last two losses, the Panthers have had a tie broken late in the third period.
“As painful as it is when you drop three in a row, especially tight games the way we have, you can expect and count on the maturity that you can cut that off,” head coach Paul Maurice said of turning the page. “Deal with it, cut it off, and the move on to the next night.”
Set to miss his third straight game while dealing with an upper-body injury, Anton Lundell participated in this morning’s skate in a no-contact jersey. Also sidelined by an injury, Brad Marchand, who also missed a chunk of time in January, will miss his second straight game.
Between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky will get the nod for Florida.
Always getting up for this matchup, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner boasts a 17-8-2 record with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in his career against the Sabres.
Sam Reinhart leads Florida in goals (27) and points (52), while Marchand, despite playing in just 45 games, sits second in scoring with 50 points (25G, 25A). Back on a familiar line with Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe have 42 and 41 points, respectively.
Centering the third line, Cole Schdwindt has a goal and an assist over his last four games.
“Every day, just trying to work towards being a full-time NHL-er,” Schwindt said.
Sitting at 31-18-5, the Sabres had their five-game winning streak snapped in a 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in their last outing on Saturday. Tied 2-2 after two periods, Cole Caufield scored twice in the third period to help the Canadiens capture the win.
Up front, Tage Thompson leads Buffalo in goals (28) and points (56). On the blue line, Rasmus Dahlin has put himself squarely into the conversation for this year’s Norris Trophy with 44 points (11G, 33A) in 50 games while averaging 24:30 of ice time per contest.
Yet to announce a starting goaltender, the Sabres could opt to go with red-hot Alex Lyon in net against his former team. Owning a 13-7-3 record with a .913 save percentage this season, Lyon set a franchise record with 10 straight wins from Dec. 9 through Jan. 29.
Splitting their first two meetings, the Panthers came out on top in their last matchup against Buffalo, riding a two-goal third period to a 4-3 win at KeyBank Center on Jan. 12.
A tough test defensively, the Sabres rank eighth in the NHL with 3.37 goals per game.
“Draw on some of the things we did right against them in their building not long ago,” Ekblad said. “Try and stymie their offense, find a way to limit their clean zone entries and break out the puck well, stuff like that is important.”
THEY SAID IT
“It’s important to get our minds right and our bodies right for the battle and the grind that are going to be these three games.” – Aaron Ekblad
“You learn the same things in the playoffs, how to cut off losses and wind up for the next game.” – Paul Maurice
FIVE CATS STATS
- Gustav Forsling leads the Panthers with 172:01 of shorthanded ice time.
- The Panthers boast an 83.2% success rate on the penalty kill at home.
- Jesper Boqvist is one point away from his 100th NHL point.
- The Panthers lead the NHL with 765 hits at home.
- Sam Reinhart is one goal shy of tying Olli Jokinen (188) for third most in franchise history.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Eetu Luostarinen – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Sandis Vilmanis – Cole Schwindt – A.J. Greer
Mackie Samoskevich – Jesper Boqvist – Luke Kunin
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis
Tobias Bjornfot – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Jan. 21: F Jack Studnicka loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Jan. 19: F Noah Gregor loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Jan. 16: D Uvis Balinskis agreed to terms on two-year contract extension
- Jan. 10: F Sandis Vilmanis recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Monday, Feb. 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 (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click Here
