SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will finally get a little home cooking when they kick off a three-game homestand against the Winnipeg Jets at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday.
Sitting at 7-4-2, the Panthers have played a league-low three games at home.
“It's always nice playing here,” forward Sam Reinhart said after this morning’s skate in Fort Lauderdale. “A couple days at home and a couple home cooked meals. Nice to be back.”
Going 2-2-0 on their recent road trip, the Panthers enter tonight’s matchup on the heels of a 5-1 win at Winnipeg on Tuesday. In the win, Brady (1G, 2A) and Matthew (4A) Tkachuk combined for seven points, while Carter Verhaeghe had a pair of goals on the power play.
Falling to 4-6-3, the Jets saw their losing streak hit seven games with a 6-4 defeat on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday at Benchmark International Arena.
Mark Scheifele had three assists in the loss, while Stuart Skinner stopped 16 of 21 shots.
With the Jets playing less than 24 hours ago, the Panthers want to get on them early tonight.
“I mean they played yesterday,” forward Eetu Luostarinen said. “We should have a little bit fresher legs. Obviously in this league you have to put in a good effort every night to secure a win, so we want to come out hot and then put the pressure on them.”
For more information on tonight’s game, continue below.
EYE ON THE CATS
GOT THE POWER: Since Oct. 12, the Panthers have converted on a whopping 39.4% of their power plays. In that span, they’ve gone 13 for 33 with the extra attacker. Over those eight games, four players have recorded at least six points on the power play for the Panthers: Matthew Tkachuk (11), Seth Jones (9), Brady Tkachuk (9) and Sam Reinhart (6).
SCHMID STARTS: With Jacob Markstrom (upper body) nearing a return but still unavailable, Akira Schmid will make his third straight start for the Panthers. Owning a 2-0-0 record over his last two starts, the 26-year-old goaltender has posted a .935 save percentage in that span. On Tuesday, Schmid stopped 24 of 25 shots in a 5-1 win over the Jets.
BRADY’S BUNCH: Earning a point in seven of his last eight games, Brady Tkachuk has racked up 15 points (8G, 7A) during that torrid stretch. Since Oct. 12, he ranks tied for fourth in the NHL in points (15) and second in goals (8). In his career against Winnipeg, the 27-year-old power forward has produced 19 points (11G, 8A) in 24 contests.
FIVE KEY STATS
- Carter Verhaeghe has scored a team-high five goals in the first period.
- Matthew Tkachuk is the third player in Panthers history with 16 assists in a month.
- Seth Jones ranks tied for fourth among NHL defensemen with 14 assists.
- Akira Schmid has stopped 21 of 24 high-danger shots at 5-on-5 this season.
- Cole Schwindt is winning 54.5% of his faceoffs.
THEY SAID IT
“All things considered we did a pretty good job. We have some key players out. A lot of time on the road, but I feel like in the past we've been really good road team. I's just a good time hanging out with the boys and then just playing on the road. I feel like we've been really good at that. Not a bad start for the season.” – Eetu Luostarinen on Florida’s start to the season
“I think just take away their time and space. We're kind of tight gap team. They've got some skill up front. We can keep it out of their hands as much as possible, the better off we'll be.” – Sam Reinhart on the key to beating the Jets
“You want to get on a rhythm at home as much as on the road, and we haven't been here enough to do that yet. Two of our three home games we were very, very pleased with, and one we weren't. We just want to make sure that tonight isn't that same feeling.” – Paul Maurice on kicking off a homestand
OPPOSITION OUTLOOK
- Kyle Connor leads the Jets in goals (10) and points (14). Of his goals, four have come on the power play. In his career against Florida, the speedy winger is a point-per-game player, registering 16 points (8G, 8A) in 16 games.
- The Jets are currently without their No. 1 defenseman as Josh Morrissey has been out with an upper-body injury since Oct. 7. Finishing in the top 10 in voting for the Norris Trophy in three of the past five seasons, he notched 55 points (14G, 41A) in 77 games in 2025-26.
- Nico Daws could potentially return to the crease for the Jets tonight. Acquired in the deal that sent three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck to New Jersey, Daws got his first taste of action with Winnipeg in a relief appearance at Tampa Bay on Thursday. In 18:58 of ice time, the 25-year-old goaltender turned aside all nine shots fired in his direction.
- The Jets currently rank 18th in the NHL in Corsi for percentage (48.44%), per NaturalStatTrick.com. At 5-on-5, they’re trailing 612-575 in shot attempts. In addition to also trailing in shots on goal and scoring chances, Winnipeg has a 47.57% expected goals for percentage.
PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Brady Tkachuk – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Reinhart – Sandis Vilmanis
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Lars Eller
Boko Imama – Cole Schwindt – Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Dmitry Kulikov – Radko Gudas
Goaltenders
Akira Schmid
Cooper Black
TEAM STATS
