SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will look to get some revenge against the Detroit Red Wings when the two Atlantic Division squads meet at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.
In their first meeting this season, the Red Wings topped the Panthers 5-3 on Nov. 2.
“We look forward to getting back at home in front of our own fans to try to build some consistency and momentum in our own building,” forward Lars Eller said. “No better way to do it than against a divisional rival that beat us here not too long ago.”
Sitting at 10-7-2, the Panthers enter tonight’s matchup fresh off closing out their road trip with a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. In the win, Sam Bennett scored a pair of goals, while Jacob Markstrom stopped 38 of 39 shots between the pipes.
At the other end of the ice, the Red Wings sit at 7-9-3 and saw their losing streak hit four games with a 3-2 loss on the road against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. After Andrew Copp put Detroit up 1-0 in the first period, the next three goals belonged to the Blues.
“I thought we became somewhat impatient in that game,” head coach Paul Maurice said when asked about Florida’s first meeting with Detroit. “I'd like us to play the game that we played in Columbus. I'd like to see the rest of the season look exactly that. I thought our brains were right on our patience with the puck.”
For more information on tonight’s game, continue below.
EYE ON THE CATS
FOR THE BUDS: Sam Bennett has been helping a lot of his “buddies” get adopted in November. Paying for an animal adoption fee with every goal he scores, the grizzled center has touched the twine four times through the first five games of this month. In Tuesday’s win over the Blue Jackets, Bennett scored a pair of goals, including the opening strike.
SCORING TOUCH: The Panthers have been lighting the lamp at a steady pace for the last few weeks. Since Oct. 25, they’ve scored at least three goals in seven of eight games. In that span, they rank tied for seventh in the NHL with 3.63 goals scored per game. Spreading things out, six different Panthers have scored at least three goals over those eight games, with Sam Reinhart (5), Carter Verhaeghe (4) and Sam Bennett (4) leading the attack.
ENTER SAND-MAN: Sandis Vilmanis will return to action for the Panthers after missing the last two games with an undisclosed injury. The injury occurred during the first period of Florida’s 4-3 loss at Washington on Nov. 7 when the rookie was sent flying into the boards by an illegal hit from Capitals forward Tom Wilson. 16 games this season, Vilmanis has already reached a new career-high with seven points (3G, 4A).
SCHMID STARTS: Akira Schmid will get the nod in net against the Red Wings. Last manning the crease on Nov. 7 at Washington, the 26-year-old goaltender has won three of his last four starts while surrendering more than two goals just once. In two career starts against the Red Wings, he’s posted a 1-1-0 record with a .907 save percentage.
FIVE KEY STATS
- Sam Reinhart is one goal away from his 200th with the Panthers.
- Seth Jones leads all NHL defensemen with 13 points on the power play.
- The Panthers have at least one power-play goal in seven of their last eight games.
- Matthew Tkachuk has tallied an assist in each of his last five games.
- Garnet Hathaway leads the Panthers with 86 hits.
THEY SAID IT
“I thought we battled, we skated, our sticks were fantastic defensively and we were very, very connected on the ice, so it generated some pretty high-end offense for us without trading for it. I'd like to see that continue.” – Paul Maurice on Tuesday’s win at Columbus
“I've never had so many road games in a to start a season like this, but it's good to get to spend some more time with your teammates and get familiar with everybody. Yeah, you gotta always got to be adaptable.” – Lars Eller on Florida’s road-heavy schedule
“I just feel like he can see the game slower than everybody else. He's just relaxed out there. He’s fast, but he's not going one hundred miles per hour every direction. He's just kind of observing the game. just feel every decision he does, it's a smart one.” – Anton Lundell on Sam Reinhart
OPPOSITION OUTLOOK
- The Red Wings have failed to score more than two goals in any game during their four-game losing streak. In that span, they’ve been outscored 13-5. During their losing streak, Andrew Copp and Lucas Raymond have each tallied a team-high three points, while sniper Alex DeBrincat has been held without a goal despite a team-leading 13 scoring chances.
- Lucas Raymond leads Detroit in scoring with 18 points (6G, 18A), with nine of them coming on the power play. A bit of a feast-or-famine start, the former first-round pick has multiple points in six games, while being held without a single point in nine games. In 18 career games against the Panthers, he’s been held without a goal and has just six assists.
- Daniil Tarasov could possibly man the crease against the Panthers. With the Red Wings opting to go with the hot hand, the former Panthers backup goaltender has started four of the last five games heading into tonight’s matchup. Backstopping Detroit to a hard-fought win against the Panthers on Nov. 2, Tarasov turned aside 26 of the 29 shots fired his way. At the time of this writing, the Red Wings have yet to announce a starter.
PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Brady Tkachuk – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Reinhart – Lars Eller
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sandis Vilmanis
Boko Imama – Cole Schwindt – Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Dmitry Kulikov – Radko Gudas
Goaltenders
Akira Schmid
Jacob Markstrom
TEAM STATS
