Preview: Retro Panthers Battle Lightning for 1st Place in Division
"It's a great test," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "I'm sure [Tampa Bay] is going to be excited about that as well. For our group, coming off a game where we were happy with all aspects of our game, we had a four-line rotation, and liked the way things were working out."
In the first of eight games they'll play against each other this season, the Panthers put forth a dominating performance from start to finish in a thrilling 5-2 win over the Lightning on Thursday in Sunrise. Frank Vatrano, Alex Wennberg, Aaron Ekblad, Carter Verhaeghe and Brett Connolly all scored for Florida, while Brayden Point registered a pair of power-play goals for Tampa Bay.
Outscoring the Lighting 4-0 at even strength, the Panthers finished with lopsided advantages in shot attempts (44-29) and scoring chances (28-9) at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatrick.com.
"We were doing things the right way," Quenneville said of the win, which pulled Florida into one point of first place in the division. "I just think our pressure, our speed, our quickness to pucks, was what we want to do and how we want to play. Let's think that that's not just a fluke and let's improve off those levels. I think we can. A lot of room to grow here, but some real good signs."
Carrying a torrid stick into tonight's matchup, Wennberg has lit the lamp in three straight games. In the midst of his first season with the Panthers after joining the team on a one-year deal during free agency, the 26-year-old center has racked up three goals and three assists in 11 contests.
Overall, Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team in scoring with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists), while captain Aleksander Barkov ranks second with 12 points (four goals, eight assists). Just behind them, newcomer Patric Hornqvist occupies third with 11 points (six goals, five assists).
"It's great," said Wennberg, who has been centering Huberdeau and Hornqvist on the second line. "Right now, you get a little confidence from that when you keep scoring. It's been a lot of great passes [from my teammates], so if I get the opportunity today I'll try to do the same."
Off the first 5-0-1 start of his career, Sergei Bobrovsky will be back in between the pipes for the Panthers, according to Quenneville. Over his last two starts, the 32-year-old veteran has turned aside 50 of 53 shots (.943%), including making 19 saves in Thursday's win against Tampa Bay.
"Nice to see him get solid wins for us in back-to-back games," Quenneville said of Bobrovsky.
After seeing their six-game winning streak snapped, the Lightning will look to avoid dropping consecutive games for the second time this season. Prior to giving up five goals to Florida, Tampa Bay's second-ranked defense had surrendered just four over its previous four outings.
Leading the Lightning in scoring with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists), Point is currently riding a seven-game point streak in which he's posted four goals and seven assists. Tied for second on the team behind Point, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman have each accumulated 14 points.
Also pacing the team in goals (7), Stamkos' status for tonight's game remains up in the air as he is currently going through COVID-19 protocols. Likewise, the Panthers, at the moment, are also without top-line winger Anthony Duclair, who was added to the NHL's protocol list on Thursday.
Anthony Cirelli, who has tallied four goals and six assists for Tampa Bay, will also potentially miss tonight's matchup after leaving in the third period of Thursday's contest with an injury.
Neither Stamkos nor Cirelli practiced Friday, per TampaBayLightning.com.
"Tomorrow we'll get the list of guys that can play, and we'll put a team together from that," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "The big thing for us is whether these guys are in or out, we can't sit down and kick the can because we're missing some important players on our team. It's a team sport, and we've got to rally around this. Some guys that probably haven't seen as many minutes are going to see them. We'll see where we're at if in fact these guys can't go."
While the Lightning have yet to announce a starting goaltender, it's possible that we see Andrei Vasilevskiy back in action after he stopped 24 of 28 shots on Thursday. Appearing in all but one game this season, the 26-year-old goaltender has gone 8-2-1 behind a .929 save percentage.
"We're expecting a pushback [tonight], "Wennberg said. "It's up to us to respond to it."
As a nice bonus tonight, the Panthers will also pay homage to their past by celebrating "Retro Paradise Night" and donning their stunning Reverse Retro jerseys for the first time this season.
Available now at FLATeamShop.com, this sweet looking sweater has been earning some rave reviews both within and outside of South Florida ever since it was unveiled by adidas back in November. Paying homage to the franchise's run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, the jersey features the iconic leaping panther logo as well as many other nods to the club's colorful past.
Florida will wear its Reverse Retro during five home games this season.
"They're great," Ekblad said of the jerseys. "Obviously, I remember when we used to wear jerseys fairly similar to that with a different color. I love the idea by the league, and I think it's great I'll be able to look back on our heritage and reminisce on my early years here."
With a win tonight, the Panthers will match their best point total ever through 12 games.
TEAM RECORDS
FLA:8-1-2, 18 PTS
TBL: 9-2-1, 19 PTS
FLA all-time vs. TBL: 67-46-10-16
PANTHERS NOTES
-- Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers in assists (11), points (15) and power-play points (8). No stranger to Tampa Bay, the 27-year-old winger has more points against the Lightning than any other team in his career, registering 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists) over 32 career games.
-- Aleksander Barkov ranks seconds on the Panthers in in scoring with 12 points (four goals, 12 assists). With one more point, the 25-year-old center will overtake Olli Jokinen (419) for the second-most points in franchise history. In 27 career games against Tampa Bay, he's tallied 21 points (four goals, 17 assists).
-- Aaron Ekblad leads the Florida's defenseman with nine points (four goals, five assists) while also averaging a team-high 24:48 of ice time per game. The 25-year-old enters tonight needing one power-play goal to pass Robert Svehla (26) for the most by a blueliner in franchise history.
-- The Panthers rank second in the NHL on the power play (36.7%), including scoring eight goals on the man advantage over their last seven games. Patric Hornqvist leads the team in power-play goals (4) and is tied for third in power-play points (6). Keith Yandle sits second on the team in power-play points (7) and needs just three more to Reed Larson (273) for the eighth-most ever by a defenseman in NHL history.
-- Radko Gudas leads the Panthers with 58 hits, including 35 over his last five contests.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Brett Connolly
Jonathan Huberdeau - Alex Wennberg - Patric Hornqvist
Frank Vatrano - Eetu Luostarinen - Owen Tippett
Ryan Lomberg - Juho Lammikko - Noel Acciari
Defensemen
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Markus Nutivaara - Anton Stralman
Keith Yandle - Radko Gudas
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Chris Driedger
Scratches: Anthony Duclair, Vinnie Hinostroza, Noah Juulsen
Taxi squad: Mason Marchment, Kevin Connauton, Scott Wilson, Philippe Desrosiers
Injured reserve: Gustav Forsling
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Feb. 9: F Ryan Lomberg was added to Florida's active roster from the taxi squad.
- Feb. 8: F Mason Marchment was assigned to Florida's taxi squad.
- Feb. 7: F Scott Wilson reassigned to Florida's taxi squad from Syracuse (AHL) and F Mason Marchment recalled from the taxi squad.
IN-ARENA ACTIVATIONS
-
Retro Paradise
-
50/50 Raffle
-
Student Rush Night
- A limited number of fans will be admitted to BB&T Center for home games this season. Learn about the health and safety precautions that have been taken as a part of the "Red Reminders" program presented in conjunction with Baptist Health South Florida at
FloridaPanthers.com/RedReminders
.
- Mobile Ordering is now available at BB&T Center for Panthers games. Visit
FloridaPanthers.com/MobileOrdering
for all the info.
HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN
When: Saturday, Feb. 13, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: BB&T Center
TV:FOX Sports Florida
Stream:
FOX Sports GO
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 107.9 FM /1370 AM WZTA (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM 221 / Streaming 932
