SUNRISE, Fla. – We all know Cats have nine lives.
But can they win nine straight games?
We’ll find out the answer to that burning question when the streaking Florida Panthers finally return home to host the Los Angeles Kings at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.
Sitting pretty at 26-12-2, Florida’s eight-game win streak is tied for the third-longest in franchise history.
“It’s great to be back on home ice,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Tonight’s going to be a fun night again back home in front of our fans. We’re feeling great, but we know it’s going to be another hard game. We’ll get ready for that game and have fun.”
Speaking of fun, the Panthers will also be turning back the clock.
As part of the team’s 30th Anniversary, the Panthers will celebrate “90’s Night” against the Kings. Bringing back fan favorites, original Cats captain Brian Skrudland will drop the puck, while Bill Lindsay, Ray Sheppard and Tom Fitzgerald will also be on hand.
Fans in attendance can also collect the first puck in the three-game 30th Anniversary series puck collection on egress, while a 30th Anniversary patch will be for sale at Pantherland.
For more information on activations, merchandise and more, click here.
“It’s going to be a fun night,” Barkov said.
Wrapping up their four-game road trip, the Panthers, who’ve spent the better half of the last month away from home, cruised to a 5-1 win at St. Louis on Tuesday thanks to a hat trick from Matthew Tkachuk and a 29-save performance from backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
Also finding the back of the net against the Blues, Sam Reinhart scored his league-leading 14th goal of the season on the power play. Heading to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, the 28-year-old forward leads the team in both goals (29) and points (51).
Dishing out 14 assists during the win streak, Barkov leads the team with 33 helpers and ranks second in points (44). On pace for a second straight 40-goal campaign, Carter Verhaeghe has lit the lamp six times in his last six games to push his goal total to 22.
After backing up Stolarz in St. Louis, Sergei Bobrovsky will return to the crease against Los Angeles. Making a very strong case to join Reinhart at the All-Star Game, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has gone 20-9-1 with a .911 save percentage this season.
During the win streak, Florida has outscored the opposition 36-15.
“I don’t want to see our game change,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said when asked about facing the Kings. “When I’m saying that, we’re not sitting here going we’re just going to play a passive, shrinking defensive game. That’s not our game at all.”
Third in the Pacific Division at 20-10-7, the Kings enter tonight’s tilt trying to break out of their first real slump of the season. After letting a 2-0 lead slip away, they saw their losing streak reach six games with a 3-2 loss in overtime at Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
In defeat, Philip Danault and Matty Roy scored, while Cam Talbot made 26 saves.
"We’ll figure a way out,” Los Angeles head coach Todd McLellan said after the loss. “I don’t think confidence is just lost. You play yourself into confidence, or you play yourself out of confidence.”
Despite their skid, the Kings haven’t exactly been getting blown out. Of their six losses, five have been decided by just one goal, including three that went past regulation. With that, they’re hardly an underdog in this contest and certainly shouldn’t be seen as such.
Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar are tied for first on Los Angeles in scoring with 36 points each, while Kevin Fiala is second with 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists). Trevor Moore leads the team in goals with 17, but hasn’t lit the lamp in the last five games.
In net, Talbot could draw in again for the Kings. In 27 appearances this season, he’s gone 14-9-4 with a .922 save percentage. With Pheonix Copley lost for the season due to an injury, David Rittich would get to face the Panthers if Talbot doesn’t get the nod.
“Playing against Kopitar and those other guys, they’re similar types of players,” Barkov said. “They’re two-way players. You learn from them every shift you play against them or watch them play. Great players and fun to play against.”
Facing off for the second and final time this season, the Kings squeaked out a 2-1 win over the Panthers at Crypto.com Arena in their previous meeting back on Nov. 16.
A battle between two of the top-defensive teams in the NHL, Los Angeles has allowed the fewest goals in the NHL (90), while Florida has surrendered the third fewest (99).
Owning the sixth-best points percentage in the NHL at home this season (.706), the Cats are excited for some home cooking after playing 10 of their last 14 games on the road.
“We’re obviously excited to come back,” Barkov said. “We know we came back from our last trip and played against St. Louis and it wasn’t our best game. I don’t think it had anything to do with the road trip. Right now, everyone is confident and feeling good.”
PREGAME QUOTES
“He does everything. He can play in any zone. He can do anything on the ice. He can make plays, he can shoot the puck, he can kill plays and he can even take faceoffs. Our whole line can do anything.” – Aleksander Barkov on Evan Rodrigues
“It was definitely a good road trip for us. Coming back home, usually this first one is the biggest. If we can get back on track at home right away and get on a roll here, it would be even better.” – Evan Rodrigues on defending home ice
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sergei Bobrovsky has gone 6-0-0 with a .920 save percentage during the win streak.
- The Panthers are operating at 32.4% on the power play and 92% on the penalty kill during the win streak.
- Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida with 17 points (6G, 11A) during the win streak.
- Sam Reinhart has scored a team-leading 11 goals during the win streak.
- The Panthers are allowing just 1.88 goals against per game during the wink streak.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Ryan Lomberg
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Will Lockwood
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Jan. 5: F Mackie Samoskevich recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Jan. 3: D Uvis Balinskis signed to a two-year contract extension
HOW TO WATCH
When: Thursday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Channel 222 / App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Here
