CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Mackie Samoskevich will have a chance to shine when the Panthers continue their preseason against the rival Lightning at Amway Center in Orlando on Tuesday.
After standing out during the open-competition portion of the preseason, the 20-year-old rookie will saddle up alongside two of the team’s top forwards, Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk, as the Panthers now start to work their regulars back into the lineup in preparation for the season.
With three preseason games left, Samoskevich appears to still be very much in the thick of it.
“Now we shift our focus to making sure that our returning veteran players are ready to go,” head coach Paul Maurice said following Tuesday’s morning skate at the Panthers IceDen. “Some of them will play in all three [of the final] games, probably [at least] two out of three for everybody.”
Playing on the right side throughout his career, Samoskevich will face a new test against Tampa.
“The big thing is we’re going to shift him over to the left side,” said Maurice, who’s deployed the rookie in many different situations throughout camp. “The idea will be to see how comfortable he is on both sides of the ice because you have different opportunities with different lines.”
The Panthers are also interested to see how Samoskevich fares against stiffer competition.
“Maybe these games become more important for him because these are closer to NHL lineups,” Maurice said. “You get a little better idea of the speed. For some players, the game will be easier. It’ll get faster and sometimes physically harder, but mentally it’s easier to read.”
In terms of special teams, Samoskevich was on the second power-play unit this morning.
“He’s been great,” Bennett said of Samoskevich. “I haven’t got to see him a ton since I was in a different group than him, but in the practice yesterday and today he looked good. I’m looking forward to playing with him and to see if we can get some chemistry going. I’m excited for him.”
The Panthers and Lightning will drop the puck at 7 p.m. ET.
A stream will be available at FloridaPanthers.com.
NOTES
- Aleksander Barkov (illness) will stay back in South Florida. The Panthers captain skated this morning, but is still getting back up to 100%. If all goes well, he’ll suit up in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Lightning at Amerant Bank Arena.
“He’s just getting over a sickness,” Maurice said.
- Maurice announced this morning that Sergei Bobrovsky will get the nod for Opening Night in Minnesota on Oct. 12. With that, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner is expected to suit up in two of the final three preseason games in order to get into a groove.
