SUNRISE, Fla. – The surging Florida Panthers will try to stretch their winning streak to five games when they host the St. Louis Blues at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
Hoping to ride the high from a dramatic win less than 24 hours ago, the Panthers kicked off their back-to-back with an incredible comeback against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
Trailing 3-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the third period, the Panthers clawed all the way back on goals from Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart to make it 3-3.
In the shootout, Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues scored, while Sergei Bobrovsky stood tall between the pipes to help the Panthers come all the way back for a stunning 4-3 victory.
It marked the first time that Florida has ever erased a 3-0 deficit with 10 minutes left to win.
“You can feel it the whole way, right to the very end,” said Bennett, who’s scored five goals in his last six games. “Our team is really loud on the bench the whole game and involved in the game. There’s no quit in this locker room. So, we truly believed that whole game that we could come back.”
In addition to the goal scorers, several other players went above and beyond to help the Panthers pocket two massive points against the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes.
Anton Lundell made a game-saving defensive play when the net was empty in the final minute, while Seth Jones saw 30:47 of ice time and Evan Rodrigues won 18 faceoffs.
In order to pull off a comeback like that, everyone has to chip in.
“Belief is where it starts,” Marchand said. “We knew we needed one and that anything could happen. We’ve scored three goals in ten minutes before, we knew we could do it again. It doesn't take much for this group to produce. Everyone is kind of coming around and having their game going right now.”
Suffering a lower-body injury during the win over the Hurricanes, Mackie Samoskevich will sit out tonight's battle with the Blues and is currently considered day to day. In his place, Jack Studnicka, who last played Dec. 15, will slot back into the lineup.
Daniil Tarasov will get the nod in net after backing up Bobrovsky against the Hurricanes. Off to a solid start in his first season with the Panthers, Tarasov has posted a 4-5-1 record with a 2.76 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.
Across the ice, the Blues sit fifth in the Central Division at 13-15-8.
Closing out a four-game homestand, the Blues suffered a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers in overtime in their last outing on Thursday.
Jonathan Berggren scored the lone goal for St. Louis in the loss, while Jordan Binnington made 29 saves in net.
Robert Thomas leads the Blues in scoring with 24 points (7G, 17A), while defenseman Justin Faulk ranks second with 18 points (8G, 9A).
Missing key players, Dylan Holloway (17 points), Jordan Kyrou (16 points) and Nick Bjugstad (5 points) are all currently on injured reserve for St. Louis.
Between the pipes, Binnington and Joel Hofer have split time. Binnington sits at 7-8-6 with a .873 save percentage, while Hofer is 6-7-2 with a .896 save percentage.
Hofer is expected to start against the Panthers.
The first of two meetings between the two clubs this season, the Panthers have won three straight games against the Blues, leading 10-4 in goals over the course of those contests.
THEY SAID IT
“It’s a great win. We have to just stay focused and come back to our routine. Build from this, build from this moment. We have lots and lots of work to do and we’re excited about the challenge.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on Friday’s win over Carolina
“Quietly, because none of our defenseman are in the 25-to-30-point range, I don’t think people appreciate how well Seth Jones is playing for us right now. He and Niko (Mikkola) have been fantastic… He doesn’t get statistical notice, but his game is right on. He’s dominant for me.” – Paul Maurice on Seth Jones
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sam Reinhart has logged multiple points in three of his last four games.
- Sam Bennett is tied for first in the NHL with three game-winning goals at home.
- Brad Marchand has notched 8 points (4G, 4A) during his four-game point streak.
- Anton Lundell has lit the lamp in five of his last eight games.
- Carter Verhaeghe enters tonight’s matchup on a four-game point streak.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
Jesper Boqvist – Evan Rodrigues – A.J. Greer
Luke Kunin – Jack Studnicka – Noah Gregor
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Daniil Tarasov
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Dec. 1: F Jack Studnicka was recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, December 20 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
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
Tickets: Click Here
