SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will attempt to keep their season-opening winning streak alive when they host the Ottawa Senators at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
Sitting at 2-0-0 in the standings, the Panthers are just the sixth reigning Stanley Cup champion in the past 30 years to win their first two games the following season.
“It’s obviously a great start for our group, especially with a couple key guys out,” forward Sam Bennett said. “Guys are stepping up and playing well. We’ve had a really strong effort from everyone. Just trying to get back into things.”
Winning each of their first two games by one goal, the Panthers are coming off a gritty 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand each found the back of the net, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 of shots 20 shots that came his way.
Not giving up much, Florida has allowed just 39 shots on goal through two games.
Already missing three key forwards in Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek, the Panthers lost defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to an injury midway through the second period against Philadelphia.
The Panthers expect to know the full extent of the injury on Sunday.
"They know what it is now,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Tonight, they're going to get together and decide how to proceed with it. That will change the rehab time."
Stepping into Kulikov’s spot next to Jeff Petry on Florida’s third pairing against the Senators, Uvis Balinskis will make his season debut.
In addition to appearing in five playoff games last year, Balinskis set career-high marks in goals (4), assists (14) and points (18) and games played (76) during the 2024-25 regular season.
With no other lineup changes expected, Bobrovsky will make his third straight start.
Backstopping the Panthers to back-to-back wins to start the season, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner currently boasts a 1.51 goals-against average with a .923 save percentage.
In his career against Ottawa, Bobrovsky owns a 16-8-1 record.
“They play pretty similar to us,” Bennett said. “They’re fast, they can be physical, and they like to be hard on the forecheck. We know their game really well, and I think we’re going to be ready for it.”
Starting their season on the other side of the Sunshine State against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Senators fought back from an early 3-1 deficit to secure a 5-4 win on Thursday.
Shane Pinto scored a pair of goals against the Lightning -- including the go-ahead goal late in the third period -- while Dylan Cozens, Artem Zub and Claude Giroux also touched twine.
Named the third star of the game, Brad Tkachuk dished out three assists.
Likely getting the nod in net against the Panthers, Linus Ullmark, who had some great battles with Florida during his days with the Boston Bruins, made 21 saves against Tampa Bay.
Turning a corner in their rebuild after returning to the playoffs last season, Ottawa, which was eliminated in the first round, finished fourth in the Atlantic Division, just one point behind the Panthers.
“That’s a rounding error,” Maurice said of how tight the race was.
Even though we’re only in October, divisional games are always under the microscope.
“I think any time you play a divisional rival, those games are a little more important, a little more emphasis on those games,” Bennett said. “I’m sure we’re going to be extra sharp.”
Injured when the Senators visited Sunrise last season, Nick Cousins will finally make his long-awaited return to Florida after helping the Panthers win their first Stanley Cup in 2024.
In two seasons with the Panthers, the always-grinning forward tallied 42 points (16G, 26A) in 148 games.
In 2023, he scored the series-clinching goal in overtime of Game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs to send the Panthers to their first Eastern Conference Final since 1996.
"Any guy that has 16 nicknames is well-liked,” Maurice said. “He hears it. He was part of that 'have fun, play hard' thing we were trying to build. ... Really important part."
THEY SAID IT
“It’s been good. We’ve got a bunch of looks, just haven’t really capitalized on all our looks. It definitely takes time to build chemistry, but I love what we’ve shown so far. I think we can definitely even improve from what we’ve done.” – Sam Bennett on playing with Brad Marchand and Carter Verhaeghe
“Almost 1,000 games. Experienced guy. Just learn from him and what he does on the ice.” – Uvis Balinskis on playing with Jeff Petry
FIVE CATS STATS
- Evan Rodrigues has recorded an assist in each of the last two games.
- Aaron Ekblad is averaging a team-high 24:01 of ice time per game.
- Niko Mikkola has blocked a team-high four shots.
- Sam Reinhart has posted 31 points (13G, 18A) in 34 career games vs. Ottawa.
- Florida is currently 5-for-5 on the penalty kill this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Luke Kunin – Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Oct. 7: Forward Noah Gregor signed to a one-year, two-way contract
- Oct. 6: Forward Jack Studnicka loaned to Charlotte Checkers (AHL)
- Oct. 5: Defenseman Tobias Bjornfot loaned to Charlotte Checkers (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, October 11 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV: 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 App; NHL App; SiriusXM 221 / App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click Here
