SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers now get to play host.
After earning a 3-1 win in Detroit in their last outing on Friday, the defending Stanley Cup champions will now face the Red Wings in a rematch at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.
Entering the matchup, the Panthers sit at 31-29-3.
“I thought we took care of business in our own zone,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said of the team’s last battle with the Red Wings. “Bob (Sergei Bobrovsky) made some unbelievable saves that kept us in it, and we scored some goals for him.”
Helping the Panthers snap out of a four-game skid, Matthew Tkachuk lit the lamp three times during Friday’s win in the Motor City, earning him the sixth regular-season hat trick of his career.
Nearly unbeatable between the pipes, Bobrovsky stopped 28 of 29 shots.
“You could really tell Bob was seeing it from the very beginning of the game,” Ekblad said.
No strangers to adversity, the Panthers will take the ice against the Red Wings without their top-two scorers as both Sam Reinhart (59 points) and Brad Marchand (54 points) are hampered by injuries.
Marchand is dealing with a lower-body injury that is expected to keep him out of the lineup for an extended period of time, while Reinhart, who’d previously missed only six games over the last four seasons, is being given time to get out ahead of a potential soft-tissue ailment.
Reinhart could return to action as soon as Thursday’s game against Columbus.
"You play nine (games) in 15 (days), you go to Italy (for the Winter Olympics), you come back and play six in nine, you're going to get those (injuries),” head coach Paul Maurice said of Reinhart, who’s scored a team-high 28 goals. “Now, we're starting to deal with them."
With Marchand and Reinhart unavailable, Luke Kunin and Vinnie Hinostroza, who was acquired prior to Friday’s trade deadline, will suit up against the Red Wings. A re-debut of sorts, Hinostroza previously appeared in nine games for the Panthers back in 2020-21.
In net, Daniil Tarasov will get the start for Florida.
Hoping to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16, the Red Wings enter tonight’s tilt at 36-21-7 and holding a one-point edge over the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division.
Rebounding from their loss to the Panthers, the Red Wings opened their four-game road trip with a 3-0 win at New Jersey on Sunday. Mortiz Seider led the way on offense with a goal and two assists against the Devils, while a pair of goaltenders teamed up for the shutout.
John Gibson made 21 saves in first two periods for Detroit, but was injured late in the second on a collision in the crease. In relief, Cam Talbot stopped 10 shots in the third. Following the game, Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said he expects Gibson to be OK.
Suffering a lower-body injury against Florida, Detroit captain Dylan Larkin is day to day.
Lucas Raymond leads the Red Wings in scoring with 65 points (20G, 45A), while Alex DeBrincat, who scored the team’s lone goal against the Panthers on Friday, ranks second with 63 points (33G, 30A). In third, Larkin has recorded 55 points, including scoring 28 goals.
Over the past three seasons, the Panthers have gone 5-3-1 against the Red Wings.
“We didn’t move anywhere near what we’re capable of, but it was exactly the game that you almost hope for in that situation,” Maurice said of the last matchup with Detroit. “We had almost no forecheck and very little offensive zone time. We’d like to improve that. But you need a couple things. You need your penalty kill. We gave up a 5-on-3 goal, but after that very, very strong. You need one from your power play because you just don’t generate as much at 5-on-5, and you need your goaltender to be good, and Sergei was fantastic.”
THEY SAID IT
“It was nice. He’s moving well. It’s great to see him out there. Passing pucks back and forth in the beginning of the skate was nice. It kind of felt like being kids with him again back in the day.” – Aaron Ekblad on Aleksander Barkov joining Tuesday’s morning skate
"He's out of that bubble wrap. He can move around. If somebody bumps into him, nobody is going to -- well, I'm going to catch my breath -- but nobody else will. He'll be fine. It's fun having him out there." – Paul Maurice on Aleksander Barkov joining Tuesday’s morning skate
FIVE CATS STATS
- Aaron Ekblad has recorded 22 points (6G, 16A) in 38 career games vs. Detroit.
- Matthew Tkachuk has logged 11 points (6G, 5A) in his last eight games.
- Sam Bennett is one assist away from his 200th NHL assist.
- Florida ranks eighth in the NHL on the penalty kill since Jan. 1 at 80.7%.
- The Panthers own a 14-4-1 record when leading after the first period.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Mackie Samoskevich
Jesper Boqvist – Luke Kunin – Vinnie Hinostroza
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis
Donovan Sebrango – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Daniil Tarasov
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- March 6: Claimed F Cole Reinhardt off waivers from Vegas
- March 6: Acquired F Vinnie Hinostroza from Minnesota in exchange for future considerations
- March 5: Acquired a conditional 2026 seventh-round draft pick from Minnesota in exchange for D Jeff Petry
- March 4: G Louis Domingue agreed to terms on a two-way, one-year NHL contract for remainder of 2025-26 season
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Tuesday, March 10 at 7 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: Buy Now
