"Every game from now until the end of the season is a huge game for us," Panthers forward Sam Bennett said. "We're not taking any game lightly. We're going to come ready to play."
Putting on an incredible show for fans in the penultimate game of their seven-game stretch at home, the Panthers erupted on offense in a 9-5 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Setting a franchise record for most goals ever in the first period, the Panthers built up a 7-3 lead over the Canadiens after just 20 minutes on goals from goals from Colin White, Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad, Ryan Lomberg, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe, who lit the lamp two times.
In the second period, Matthew Tkachuk touched twine, while Ekblad netted his second goal of the night.
"If you came 30 minutes late, you're probably regretting it," Tkachuk said. "Hopefully nobody got stuck in traffic. Definitely some things to clean up, but a win's a win at this time of year."
Putting himself in contention to be a finalist for the Hart Trophy, Tkachuk finished with four points (one goal, three assists) against Montreal. He also became just the second player in franchise history to post more than three points in three straight games, joining Pavel Bure.
Leading the Panthers and ranking fourth in the NHL in scoring, Tkachuk has racked up 91 points (31 goals, 60 assists) in 2022-23. Up to 30 multi-point games on the season, the 25-year-old forward needs just one more multi-point showing to match the franchise record of 31 set by Jonathan Huberdeau in 2018-19.
Over his last five games, Tkachuk has posted 12 points (three goals, nine assists).
"He's been great all year," Bennett said of Tkachuk, who he also played with in Calgary. "He's one of the best I've ever seen in front of the net. He wins battles and tips pucks. He's great."
Speaking of the record books, Aleksander Barkov, who's logged 58 points (17 goals, 41 assists) in 54 games this season, is also on the verge of making history. As it stands now, the captain is just two points away from matching Huberdeau's all-time franchise points record of 613.
"That's definitely a pretty amazing accomplishment," Bennett said. "He's the driver of this team. You can see when he's not in the lineup that it makes it a lot tougher on our team. Every night he's doing something to help our team win. He's also a very rare talent."
Second in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 44-17-7, the Devils are looking to rebound after losing consecutive games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In their latest outing on Thursday, the Devils suffered a 4-3 loss in the shootout after Alex Killorn buried the winner for Tampa Bay.
In that matchup, Timo Meier, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks prior to the NHL Trade Deadline earlier this month, ensured the Devils would at least get a point when he scored on the power play with 2:16 left on the clock in regulation to make it 3-3 and get the game to overtime.
In seven games with New Jersey, Meier has notched four points (three goals, one assist).
"He's going to spend as much time as he can in front of the net, and he's got the hands to score," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of Meier. "That's a really good add for them. They added a player that's not like a lot of their other players. They got a little heavier."
Jack Hughes leads the Devils in goals (37) and points (81), while Dougie Hamilton is second in points (64) and first in assists (46). Behind those two on the team's scoring leaderboard, Nico Hischier (64) and Jesper Bratt (60) have also hit the 60-point mark this season.
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to get the nod in net for the Panthers. At the other end of the ice, Akira Schmid could man the crease for the Devils. Bobrovsky has gone 22-17-3 with a .903 save percentage this season, while Schmid owns an 8-4-2 record with a .924 percentage.
Facing off for the third and final time this season, the Panthers and Devils have split their series thus far. After the Panthers earned a 4-2 win in their first meeting back on Dec. 17 at Prudential Center, the Devils responded just four days later with a 4-2 win at FLA Live Arena on Dec. 21.
Over their past eight matchups, the Panthers own a 5-2-1 record against the Devils.
"They're a skilled team that works really hard," Bennett said. "If we're getting in on the forecheck, we've got to play them physically because they've got a lot of skilled guys. If we just play our game we're going to have success."
