SUNRISE, Fla. – You often hear that success breeds success.
For the Florida Panthers, it sure seems like it right now.
Winners in six of their last seven games, the defending Stanley Cup champions will look to keep on rolling when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
Sitting at 18-13-2, a win would put the Panthers back in a playoff spot.
“It feels really good,” forward Mackie Samoskevich said. “We work so hard, so when you get the results, it definitely feels a lot better. I think we did a good job of sticking together through, I guess you could call it, a tough time. Now we’re just getting the results.”
Indeed they are.
Kicking off their homestand with a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, the Panthers extended their winning streak to three games. During that sizzling stretch, they’ve scored 12 goals while allowing no more than two goals against in any of the three games.
On fire in December, Carter Verhaeghe leads the Panthers in goals (7) and points (11), while Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand are tied for second in scoring with 10 points apiece. Also racking up the points, Sam Reinhart (9) and Anton Lundell (8) have chipping in consistently.
An underrated forward, Eetu Luostarinen will skate in his 400th NHL game tonight.
“Obviously, it’s a nice little milestone,” said Luostarinen, who’s logged 13 points (3G, 10A) in 25 games this season. “It’s been a lot of fun. Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess. A lot of good experiences and a lot of good memories, especially those deep playoff runs.”
Since Luostarinen returned from injury, the Panthers are 6-1-0.
"He's in the (Aleksander) Barkov category of prototypical in the way that we want to play the game,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Now, we kind of honor the guys that put up a lot of points. We understand that. But in quality of role, he's as good a player as we have."
Leading the Metropolitan Division at 22-9-2, the Hurricanes also enter tonight’s tilt looking to extend a streak as they’ve won each of their last five games, three of them by shootout.
Opening their three-game road trip, Sebastian Aho scored twice and Pytor Kochetkov made 25 saves during a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday.
Aho leads the Hurricanes in scoring with 29 points (11G, 18A), with Seth Jarvis ranking second with 27 points, including a team-leading 19 goals. The team’s big free agent addition in the offseason, Nikolaj Ehlers sits fourth in scoring with 23 points (8G, 15A).
But the biggest story so far for the Hurricanes has been between the pipes.
Claimed off waivers from the Panthers in October, goaltender Brandon Bussi has been quite the surprise for Carolina, posting an 11-1-0 record with a .911 save percentage.
Per NHL stats, he’s the first goaltender in NHL history to win 10 of his first 11 career starts.
At the time of this writing, the Hurricanes have yet to announce a starter.
For the Panthers, Sergei Bobrovsky will get the nod in net.
Of course, the history between the Panthers and Hurricanes goes beyond one player.
In two of the last three seasons, the Panthers have eliminated Carolina from the playoffs.
The first of three meetings between the two Eastern Conference powerhouses this season, the Panthers have won two of their past three regular season battles with the Hurricanes.
As you’d expect, both teams know what they’re getting into tonight.
“You know what they’re about with the kind of style of game that they play,” Samoskevich said. “We’ve played them a bunch, and every time it’s been a really good game. They’re similar to the teams we kind of just played – Dallas and LA – with how they apply pressure.”
THEY SAID IT
“Just preparation is huge. It’s not going to be a game where you’ve got a ton of time and space and you can have your head up and look for it. You have to know what to expect.” – Mackie Samoskevich
“Their game, it hasn’t changed much. Why would you? They’ve got the best gap in the league. They even play theirs differently than we do. They brought in some speed and some skill. They’re healthy.” – Paul Maurice
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sergei Bobrovsky owns a .924 save percentage in 32 career games vs. Carolina.
- The Panthers are 29-for-31 (93.5%) on the penalty kill in December.
- Anton Lundell boasts a team-leading 52% winning percentage in the faceoff circle.
- Jesper Boqvist is two points away from his 100th NHL point.
- Aaron Ekblad has blocked a team-high 56 shots.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – A.J. Greer
Jesper Boqvist – Noah Gregor – Luke Kunin
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Dec. 1: F Jack Studnicka was recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Friday, December 19 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 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
