“A lot of new faces, new blood, guys that are wanting to help us get over the hump, which is great,” said forward Matthew Tkachuk, who believes this season is more of a new chapter than a fresh start. “The guys that are coming back have been waiting for this for months. It starts now.”
While many of the players from last year’s special squad are back – including the team’s top-10 point producers in 2022-23 – there will also be plenty of new faces on the ice in Minnesota.
Among the newcomers expected to suit up for the Panthers are forwards Evan Rodrigues, Kevin Stenlund, Steven Lorentz and Mackie Samoskevich, and defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Uvis Balinskis, Nikko Mikola and Dmitry Kulikov, who is back for a second stint with Florida.
For Samoskevich and Balinskis, tonight’s game will be their NHL debuts.
“I want them to be nervous,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the rookies. “They get a standard speech, but it’s true. You could win five Stanley Cups, five Hart Trophies and be in the Hall of Fame, but you only ever get one first game in the NHL. That’s not your game, actually. It’s mom and dad’s game and all the volunteer coaches that helped you, teachers, everybody.”
Sixth in the NHL with 3.51 goals per game last season, Florida’s offense should be just as potent this season. A finalist for the Hart Trophy, Tkachuk tallied a career-high 109 points (40 goals, 69 assists) in 2022-23, while Carter Verhaeghe led the team with a career-high 42 goals.
And even without Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour – two key players that will be sidelined until mid-December while recovering from injuries sustained in the playoffs – players like Gustav Forsling and Ekman-Larsson are confident they can hold down the fort on the back end.
Set to quarterback the top power-play unit to start the season, Ekman-Larsson, who shined during the preseason, has logged 439 points (135 goals, 304 assists) in 902 career games.
Absent from Wednesday’s practice, third-line center Anton Lundell participated in morning skate, but is considered a game-time decision to play against the Wild, according to Maurice.
If Lundell can’t play, the Panthers could either turn to rookie forward Justin Sourdif, who would be making his NHL debut, or go with veteran Mike Reilly as a seventh defenseman to fill the void.
On the heels of a superhuman showing during the playoffs, Sergei Bobrovsky will man the crease for the Panthers. After posting a 24-20-3 record during the regular season, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner went 12-6 with a .915 save percentage en route to the Stanley Cup Final.
In the playoffs, his 16.3 goals saved above expected were nearly double the next-best goalie.
“He’s one of those guys that you learn from every day,” captain Aleksander Barkov said of Bobrovsky. “I sit next to him on the plane and just talk about different stuff. I like all the weird stuff about like training and playing, and he’s the same way, maybe even one step more.”
Across the ice, the Wild had its playoff run come to an abrupt end last season. After compiling 103 points during the regular season, they were eliminated by the Dallas Stars in six games in the Western Conference First Round – the third straight season that Minnesota has lost in Round 1.
As it was last season, Kirill Kaprizov remains the biggest threat up front for the Wild. In 67 games in 2022-23, the sniper led the team in goals (40) and points (75). Working in tandem on the top line with Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello ranked second with 67 points (22 goals, 45 assists).
Missing an important piece of their blue line against the Panthers, the Wild will take the ice without captain Jared Spurgeon after the defenseman suffered an upper-body injury in a preseason game on Oct. 5.
Between the pipes, Filip Gustavsson will get the nod for Minnesota. Breaking out in 2022-23, the 25-year-old goaltender went 22-9-7 with a .931 save percentage. That being said – despite a .917 save percentage – he was winless in his two starts against the Panthers last season.
In their most-recent matchup, the Panthers secured a 2-1 shootout win in the North Star State.
Eetu Luostarinen, who will be filling in as the team’s second-line center to start this season while Sam Bennett (lower body) is recovering from a preseason injury, scored the lone goal for Florida in regulation, while Lundell and Barkov scored in the shootout to lock in the win.
Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots in regulation and two of three shooters in the skills competition.
After struggling early last season, the Panthers, whose run to the Stanley Cup Final began with them making the playoffs by just one point, want to start things off on the right foot tonight.
“That’s what we want,” Barkov said. “It’s a game at a time. We don’t want to think about the next game or anything like that. All the focus is on tonight and playing as good as possible.”
PREGAME QUOTES
“Everything’s brand new, and the possibilities feel endless. Then the puck drops and it goes back to just being the game of hockey. Everyone’s excited for it. They’ve come through a hard camp. They’ve earned the right to be in the lineup.” – Maurice on the season opener
“It’s my 11th year, but it feels like just one long, long year. It feels like it was yesterday, my first game. Playing with these guys, getting back at it, competing for two points every night, it’s unreal.” – Barkov on getting ready for another season
“I think it’s preparation. That’s the big thing with me. If I’m putting in the work out there, come game-time I don’t have to feel nervous because I know I put the work in and I know I’m prepared for it. That’s basically it for me. It’s just preparing and getting ready.” – Samoskevich on getting ready for his NHL debut
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers own a 15-9-1-4 all-time record in season openers.
- The Panthers have won each of their last three road openers.
- Evan Rodrigues is one assist away from his 100th NHL assist.
- Matthew Tkachuk is three assists away from his 300th NHL assist.
- Sam Reinhart is two goals away from his 200th NHL goal.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Evan Rodrigues
Nick Cousins – Eetu Luostarinen – Matthew Tkachuk
Mackie Samoskevich – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Stenlund – Steven Lorentz
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura – Uvis Balinskis
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Oct. 10: F Justin Sourdif recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Oct. 9: F Zac Dalpe, Justin Sourdif and D Casey Fitzgerald assigned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH
When: Thursday, October 12 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Xcel Energy Center – Saint Paul, Minnesota
TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Watch Party: Funky Buddha Brewery
