SALT LAKE CITY – Matchup in the mountains.
Starting their four-game road trip out west, the Florida Panthers (14-12-2) will take on the Utah Mammoth (14-14-3) at Delta Center on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.
“I think we just got to get back to playing our game for the full 60 minutes and our start is going to be important tonight after having a couple of days off,” Sam Bennett said after the team’s morning skate in Utah.
Facing off for the first time this season, Florida completed the season sweep of Utah last year with wins of 4-1 (Jan. 8) and 2-1 (March 28).
Some familiar faces on the opposing bench, the Panthers will play against their 2025 Stanley Cup champion teammates Nate Schmidt and Vitek Vanecek.
Before taking the ice against each other, the former Panthers were able to catch up with their past teammates while receiving their Stanley Cup rings on Tuesday night.
“It’s going to be weird for sure,” Jesper Boqvist said of playing his former teammates. “Obviously, two great people, two great teammates of ours, and great to see them last night and how happy they were.”
When the puck drops on Wednesday night, the friendships and storytelling will have to be put on hold for 60 minutes.
With 30 points, the Panthers find themselves five points behind the Detroit Red Wings (35 points) for the third spot in the Atlantic Division, with two games in hand.
Earning five points in their last three games, including going 2-0-0 in their weekend back-to-back against the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders, the Panthers will look to build off their 4-1 win against the Islanders on Sunday at Amerant Bank Arena.
Scoring against the Islanders, Carter Verhaeghe extended his goal streak to three games and netted his fourth in as many.
The NHL’s Third Star of the Week, Verhaeghe has 11 points in his last six games (6G, 5A).
"The puck just finds the way in the back of the net for him when he's feeling it."
Sergei Bobrovsky will get the call in net.
Winning both of his starts against Utah last year, Bobrovsky owned a .951 SV% and 0.97 GAA between the two games.
Sitting with 31 points, the Mammoth currently hold the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
On a two-game skid, Utah most recently fell 4-2 to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday at Delta Center.
In the loss, Clayton Keller notched a goal and an assist to bring his team-high point total to 28 (10G, 18A).
The multi-point game was Keller’s eighth of the season.
A tough loss for the Mammoth, the team’s leading goal scorer Logan Cooley (14G) was announced out indefinitely on Monday after suffering a lower-body injury on Dec. 5 against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Mammoth will either go with Karel Vejmelka (12-8-2, .895 SV%, 2.66 GAA) or Vanecek (2-6-1, .878 SV%, 2.87 GAA) between the pipes.
THEY SAID IT
“It's been a lot of fun; the guys have really enjoyed it. We play a lot of hockey coming up, so it's nice to kind of get your mind off it a little bit and just enjoy being around each other." – Seth Jones on team bonding in Utah
“It's obviously exciting to get to see your ring for the first time and to see the excitement on their faces is cool and tell some stories about last year was fun.” – Sam Bennett on Nate Schmidt and Vitek Vanecek receiving their Stanley Cup rings
“He played some big games for us, and it allowed us to put Bob in a position that he could be as good as he was for two months. He was really important.” – Paul Maurice on Vitek Vanecek
FIVE CATS STATS
- Jesper Boqvist scored two goals against the Mammoth on Jan. 8
- The Panthers ranked fourth in the NHL with 721 total hits
- Sam Reinhart had two points (1G,1A) on Dec. 7 vs. the Islanders for his sixth multi-point game of the season and 93rd with the Panthers
- Seth Jones leads Florida defensemen in goals (5) and points (16)
- The Panthers are averaging 29.5 shots a game
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
A.J. Greer – Evan Rodrigues – Mackie Samoskevich
Jesper Boqvist – Jack Studnicka – Noah Gregor
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Dec. 8: F Jack Devine was loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 1: F Jack Studnicka was recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Wednesday, December 10 at 9:00 p.m. ET
Where: Delta Center – Salt Lake City, UT
TV & Streaming: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 104.3 WQAM-FM (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
Cats on Tap: Click here
