RALEIGH, N.C. – The Florida Panthers will drop the puck one more time before the holiday break when they face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Tuesday.
Sitting at 19-14-2, the Panthers have gone 7-2-1 over their last 10 games to climb back to within, as of right now, just one point of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
With a few days off on the horizon, it’s time to empty the tanks.
“Exactly,” defenseman Seth Jones said. “This is a game where there’s valuable points [up for grabs] when you look at the standings. As we go on later in the season here, it’s extremely tight in our division in the race. We’re not in a position to be going into any games lightly.”
Meeting just a few days ago on Dec. 19 at Amerant Bank Arena, the Panthers pulled off a franchise first when they erased a daunting 3-0 deficit with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation to come from behind and beat the Hurricanes by a score of 4-3 in a shootout.
In the win, the Panthers scored twice with their goaltender pulled.
Throw a game like that on top of the fact the Panthers have sent the Hurricanes packing two of the last three years in the playoffs, and there’s sure to be extra juice on both sides. Even though it’s still only December, it’s never too early for games to have a playoff-like intensity.
“The playoffs is where you get to know a team,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Both teams know each other very well and what to expect. If you can execute tonight, you win.”
Brad Marchand, who sparked the comeback against the Hurricanes, leads the Panthers in goals (20), assists (20) and points (40). Sam Reinhart, who had the game-tying goal against Carolina, ranks second in goals (19) and points (35), and also sits first in power-play goals (6).
Since Dec. 1, Sam Bennett is tied for first on the Panthers with 13 points (6G, 7A).
Getting the start against the Hurricanes, Sergei Bobrovsky boasts a 15-8-1 record with a 2.81 goals-against average, .888 save percentage and three shutouts. In his career against Carolina, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has gone 16-16-1 with a .924 save percentage.
Mackie Samoskevich (lower body) will miss his second straight game for the Panthers.
“We’re hopeful [he'll return] for Tampa after the break,” Maurice said.
Leading the Metropolitan Division at 22-10-3, the Hurricanes have gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, but enter tonight’s matchup following consecutive road losses to Florida and Tampa Bay.
Despite owning the 10th-ranked defense in the NHL with an average of 2.83 goals allowed per game, the Hurricanes have struggled a bit during their last two games while giving up 10 goals.
Sebastian Aho leads Carolina in scoring with 31 points (13G, 18A), while Seth Jarvis ranks second with 29 points, including scoring 19 goals. On the blue line, Shayne Gostisbehere leads the team’s defensemen with 26 points, with eight of those points on the power play.
Like the Panthers, the Hurricanes will be missing some key players in this contest.
While the Panthers have been forging ahead without the star forward duo of Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk for the entire season thus far, the Hurricanes recently lost Jarvis and Jaccob Slavin, their top defensive-minded defensemen, to upper-body injuries.
Still, their strong system makes them no less dangerous.
“There’s not going to be a lot of room to make plays,” defenseman Jeff Petry said. “We have to get to the forecheck and make sure that we’re working from our D-zone out.”
Frederik Andersen will get the start in net for the Hurricanes, who have been rotating through three different goaltenders so far this season. Leading the trio in starts with 14, Andersen has gone 5-7-2 with a 3.15 goals-against average and .875 save percentage.
A tight battle, the Panthers and Hurricanes have split their last 10 regular-season games.
“Obviously, pretty familiar,” Jones said. “It’s a big game for us against a good team. It was a nice come-from-behind win [last time], but obviously we don’t want to put ourselves in that position tonight.”
THEY SAID IT
“Seven [games] in 11 [days] is about the toughest stretch you’ll find in the NHL. We went through it starting on the road. I’m very impressed we were able to find the juice to play as well as we did against Carolina [last time].” – Paul Maurice
“We’ve definitely had a defensive mindset first. It didn’t just start with the goalies and the defense. The forwards are doing an excellent job of coming back and supporting us and allowing us to be aggressive.” – Seth Jones
FIVE CATS STATS
- Florida owns an .833 win percentage in all one-goal game situations this season.
- The Panthers have posted an 89.2 penalty kill rate in December.
- Brad Marchand has recorded nine points (4G, 5A) during his five-game point streak.
- Anton Lundell has scored a goal in five of his last nine games.
- Jesper Boqvist is one point away from his 100th NHL point.
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
Noah Gregor – Luke Kunin – Jack Studnicka
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Dec. 1: F Jack Studnicka was recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Tuesday, December 23 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Lenovo Center – Raleigh, North Carolina
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
Cats on Tap: Click Here
