ST. LOUIS – Quick stop in the Gateway City.
Hoping to build off their recent road success, the Florida Panthers (28-21-3) will visit the St. Louis Blues (19-25-9) at Enterprise Center on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
6-3-0 in their last nine games, the Panthers sit six points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, with two games in hand.
Their second and final meeting of the season with St. Louis, the Blues took the first game 6-2 on Dec. 20 at Amerant Bank Arena.
“Like us, have a few injuries, so guys that are going to be inserted in the lineup are going to bring probably lots of energy,” Matthew Tkachuk said of the Blues. “It's probably more of a physical heavier game, so just got to be ready for it.”
One of the newly added injuries for the Panthers is Anton Lundell, who missed the third period against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday after taking a hit in the second period.
“Lundell is upper-body, day-to-day,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Hopefully it won’t be too long.”
A critical piece for the Panthers, the two-way forward has 36 points (15G, 21A) and leads the team with a 52.5% faceoff rate.
As it has been all season, the depth scoring will stay important for the Panthers.
Trying to bounce back from Tuesday’s 4-3 loss at home to the Mammoth, the Panthers depth scoring continued, with goals from Sandis Vilmanis, Cole Schwindt, and Carter Verhaeghe.
For Vilmanis, it was his first career NHL goal.
“Every goal is nice to score, especially if it’s your first one in the NHL,” said Vilmanis. “Big thanks to the guys.”
Since Jan. 1, the Panthers have had 15 different skaters sound the goal horn.
“It’s big,” Evan Rodrigues said of the depth scoring. “It’s definitely something we need moving forward and right until the end.”
Carrying a 6-1-0 record in their last seven road games, the depth scoring has provided a boost in addition to the power play that has been clicking at 30% during that span.
A part of that power play, Matthew Tkachuk has two assists on the man-advantage since his return.
Playing against his hometown team on Thursday, Tkachuk has 28 points (9G, 19A) in 20 career games against the Blues.
“It's always really exciting for me,” Tkachuk said of being back in St. Louis. “I know I say it every time, but got a lot of people in the stands and seems to get me fired up for these types of games.”
Daniil Tarsov will get the start for the Panthers.
Over his last four games, Tarsaov is 4-0-0 with a .944 save percentage and 1.30 goals against average.
Looking to snap a five-game skid, the Blues hold a 2-7-1 record in their last 10, with most recently falling 4-3 to the Dallas Stars at home on Tuesday.
In the loss, Brayden Schenn recorded his 11th and 12th goals of the season.
Schenn’s 12 goals is tied with Jake Neighbours for team lead.
Like the Panthers, the Blues have been dealing with the injury bug and will be without their leading scoring Robert Thomas.
Placed on the injury reserve on Jan. 15 with a lower-body injury, Thomas leads the team in assists (22), points (33), and is first among Blues forwards in average ice time (18:58).
Additionally, forwards Jordan Kyrou, Neighbours, and Oskar Sundqvist will all game-time decisions, per Blues head coach Jim Montgomery.
On the blue line, Justin Faulk has been the difference maker for the Blues.
Third amongst all St. Louis skaters in points (25), the year-old ranks amongst all NHL defenseman with 11 goals.
Joel Hofer is expected to man the crease for the Blues on Thursday.
Hofer owns an 11-10-3 record, .902 save percentage, and 2.78 goals against average this season.
THEY SAID IT
“It's cool. It's always nice to hit some milestones. That's another 100 and hopefully get a win.” – Evan Rodrigues on playing in 600 NHL games
“He's hard and he's direct. He competes, and he doesn't take a night off, and he'll block shots, so he’ll do all the heavy things. Really strong in the faceoff circle.” – Paul Maurice on Luke Kunin
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sam Bennett leads the team with 140 shots
- Brad Marchand has 17 points (9G, 8A) in 22 career games against the Blues
- Carter Verhaeghe has five points (2G, 3A) in the last three games
- The Panthers have won their last two games in St. Louis
- Evan Rodrigues is expected to skate in his 600th game tonight
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Cole Scwhindt – Brad Marchand
Sandis Vilmanis – Luke Kunin – A.J. Greer
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis
Tobias Bjornfot – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Daniil Tarasov
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Jan. 21: F Jack Studnicka loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Jan. 19: F Noah Gregor loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Jan. 16: D Uvis Balinskis agreed to terms on two-year contract extension
- Jan. 10: F Sandis Vilmanis recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Enterprise Center– St. Louis, MO
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
Watch Party: Click Here
