Sitting at 18-18-4, the Panthers opened up their four-game road trip with a 3-2 win at Detroit on Friday. A perfect night on special teams, they went 2-for-2 on the power play and 5-on-5 on the penalty kill against the Red Wings, with Aaron Ekblad netting both of the goals on the man advantage.
Also chipping in on offense for the Panthers, Gustav Forsling scored a goal, Aleksander Barkov dished out two primary helpers, and Eric Staal recorded the 600th assist of his storied career.
In net, Sergei Bobrovsky looked sharp while making 29 saves on 31 shots.
"He stole the game, for sure," Ekblad said of Bobrovsky, who stopped 24 of 25 shots over the second and third periods in Detroit. "They had some fantastic chances, and he came up huge."
Selected to compete at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game in South Florida, Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers in goals (20), assists (28) and points (48). Carter Verhaeghe and Montour are tied for second in scoring with 31 points each, while Verhaeghe also ranks second in goals with 18.
Returning to the crease after stopping 33 of 36 shots in a 5-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes in his last outing on Jan. 3, Spencer Knightwill start for the Panthers in Dallas. In 18 appearances this season, the 21-year-old goaltender has produced a 9-6-3 record with a .908 save percentage and one shutout.
Looking across the ice, the Stars sit at 23-11-6, but have lost each of their last two games heading into this afternoon's tilt. Picking up no points during a quick two-game road trip, they lost 3-2 at Los Angeles on Tuesday before being shut out 2-0 at Anaheim on Wednesday.
In that loss to the Ducks, John Gibson made 35 saves to shut down the Stars.
"When you've got a goalie that's hot like that, you've got to get in his eyes, you've got to make it tough on him, you've got to take pucks to the crease," Dallas head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters following the loss. "We should have done a better job of that."
Named to the 2023 NHL All-Star Game, Jason Robertson leads the Stars in goals (26), assists (29) and points (55). Not too far behind, Roope Hintz is second in scoring with 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists). Also crossing the 30-point mark are Jove Pavelski (38) and Jamie Benn (36).
Earning the bulk of the stars in net for Dallas this season, Jake Oettinger has posted a 17-6-3 record with a .920 save percentage and two shutouts. Backing him up, Scott Wedgewood has gone 6-5-3 with a .911 save percentage, with one of those wins coming against the Panthers.
Facing off back on Nov. 17 in Sunrise, the Stars raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first period. Not going down without a fight, the Panthers then clawed their way back to within one goal as Sam Reinhart, Eetu Luostarinen, Verhaeghe and Tkachuk scored to make it 5-4 in the third period.
But with 18 seconds left, Ty Dellandrea cashed in on the empty net to make it 6-4 for Dallas.
"We obviously know their personnel," Montour said. "We played them before and didn't like how we played that game. They took it to us at home. Just play the same way we've been playing -- close gaps quick, play with speed, be patient with the puck and play hard. It should be a good game."
