Preview: Panthers Open Up 2-Game Series in Big D

The Panthers will look to bounce back after a rough trip in Raleigh when they open up a two-game set against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
Hitting the road on a six-game winning streak, the Panthers opened their trip with consecutive losses to the Hurricanes, including a 3-0 defeat on Thursday. As it has been all season long, however, the team has already put those losses behind them and are ready to push forward.

"I think that's been [part of] our success all year, just looking forward to that next game if we weren't happy with our previous performance," Panthers forward Frank Vatrano said after Thursday's loss. "It's another divisional game like it has been all year. It's important. They're looking to looking to get into the playoffs, and we're looking to move up in the standings."
With no practice on Friday and head coach Joel Quenneville not addressing the media until 12 p.m. ET, not much is known about exactly what Florida's lineup will look like in Dallas just yet.
One thing is for sure, however, the Panthers have plenty of options.
"The last few games we haven't been generating enough," Quenneville said after Thursday's loss. "We haven't been generating much offensively. We moved the lines around a lot tonight just for a spark. We'll see what goes into the next game and what our options are up front."
If the Panthers continue to alternate between their goaltenders, then there's a good chance that Sergei Bobrovsky will get the call against the Stars. Sitting at 15-6-2, the 32-year-old has been on top of his game for a while now, going 8-4-0 with .922 save percentage in his last 12 starts.
Helping the Cats to a 4-1-0 record in the season series, Bobrovsky has gone 2-0-0 with a .932 save percentage in two starts against Dallas, including a 31-save performance in a 4-3 overtime time on March 27. Overall, he's posted an amazing 15-1-1 record versus the Stars in his career.
Dating back to March 27, the Panthers are allowing just 2.13 goals per game as a team.
"It doesn't matter who's in net for us, we know we're going to get those big stops," Panthers forward Noel Acciari said. "Bob and Driegs have been making highlight-reel stops left and right every game. We want to play well in front of them so they don't have to do that every night. It gives us more confidence."
Leading the charge on offense, Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau are tied for first on the Panthers in scoring with 42 points apiece, while Carter Verhaeghe has the most goals with 17. Huberdeau also leads the club in assists (28), while Barkov has the second-most goals (16).
In five games against the Stars this season, Verhaeghe has posted three goals and two assists.
While the Panthers (26-11-4) currently sit just one point out of first place in the Central Division, the Stars (14-14-10) are still on the outside looking in at the playoff picture despite winning three of their last five games, including a lopsided 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks on Thursday.
Earning first-star honors in that win, Roope Hintz registered one goal and three assists, while Blake Comeau potted a pair of goals. In net, Anton Khudobin made 38 saves to pick up his second straight win. Also chipping in, Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen both scored.
Producing at better than a point-per-game for more than a month, Hintz has notched eight goals and 10 assists over his last 14 games to move into second on the team in scoring with 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists). Ahead of him, Joe Pavelski sits first with 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists).
"Give him 100% marks for being gutty," Dallas coach Rick Bowness said of Hintz after the win in Chicago. "He's one of the best two-way forwards in the game and he's just going to get better."
Between the pipes, the Stars will turn to either Khudobin or rookie Jake Oettinger. Coming off two straight wins, Khudobin is 8-9-4 with a .912 save percentage this season, while Oettinger, who has started three of the last four games for Dallas, is 6-5-6 with a .917 save percentage.
Stay tuned to @FlaPanthers and @JamesonCoop on Twitter for updates prior to puck drop.

TEAM RECORDS

FLA: 26-11-4, 56 PTS
DAL: 14-14-10, 38 PTS
FLA all-time vs. DAL:21-18-3-1

PANTHERS NOTES

-- Jonathan Huberdeau is tied for first on the Panthers in scoring with 42 points (14 goals, 28 assists). In 16 career games against Dallas, he's produced 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists).
-- Carter Verhaeghe ranks first on Florida in goals (17) and third in points (35). Of his 35 points, 32 of them have been tallied at even-strength, which stand as the seventh-most in the league.
-- MacKenzie Weegar ranks tied for first among NHL defensemen in even-strength points with 23. Over his last 18 games, he's registered 14 points (two goals, 12 assists).
-- Patric Hornqvist ranks fifth on the Panthers in goals (12), including seven on the power play.
-- Alex Wennberg has posted eight points (six goals, two assists) over his last 14 games, including scoring the first hat trick of his career during a 5-2 win over Columbus on April 3.
-- Frank Vatrano has accumulated five points (three goals, two assists) in his last five games.
-- Radko Gudas leads the Panthers and ranks second in the NHL in hits with 187.
-- Noel Acciari leads Florida's forwards in hits (73) to go along with 52 blocked shots.
-- Aleksander Barkov is tied for first on the Panthers in scoring with 42 points, including 16 goals. In four games since returning from injury, he's notched five points (three goals, two assists).

PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Forwards
Mason Marchment - Aleksander Barkov - Carter Verhaeghe
Jonathan Huberdeau - Alex Wennberg - Patric Hornqvist
Frank Vatrano - Noel Acciari - Owen Tippett
Eetu Luostarinen - Juho Lammikko
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling - MacKenzie Weegar
Keith Yandle - Radko Gudas
Matt Kiersted - Anton Stralman
Markus Nutivaara
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Chris Driedger
Scratches:Ryan Lomberg, Brady Keeper
Taxi squad: Kevin Connauton, Aleksi Heponiemi, Philippe Desrosiers, Spencer Knight
Injured reserve: Aaron Ekblad (lower body), Anthony Duclair (upper body)

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• April 8: The Panthers acquired F Lucas Wallmark and D Lucas Carlsson from Chicago in exchange for F Brett Connolly, F Henrik Borgstrom, D Riley Stillman and a seventh-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
  - April 5: The Panthers re-signed F Mason Marchment to a one-year contract extension; D Vladislav Kolyachonok was reassigned from Minsk (KHL) to Syracuse (AHL).
  - April 3: F Patric Hornqvist was activated from IR; D Matt Kiersted was recalled from the Taxi Squad; G Spencer Knight was assigned to the Taxi Squad.

HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN

When:Saturday, April 10 at 2:00 p.m. ET
Where:American Airlines Center - Dallas, TX
TV: Bally Sports Sun
TV Channel Info:DirecTV 653-1 | AT&T U-Verse 1723
Stream:
FOX Sports GO
Radio:560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 850 WFTL (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 107.9 FM/1370 AM WZTA (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Streaming 932