NEWARK, NJ – The Florida Panthers will look to pick up their first road win of the season when they face-off against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday.
Sitting at 3-2-0, the defending Stanley Cup champions followed up a 5-2 loss at Philadelphia on Monday with a 4-1 loss at Detroit less than 24 hours ago on Thursday.
In both games, the Panthers trailed by just one goal late in regulation.
“We’re still not quite at our level in a couple areas,” head coach Paul Maurice said after the loss to the Red Wings. “That’s all I’d like to see improvement on tomorrow [in New Jersey].”
As it was against the Flyers, the Panthers had to play from behind in Detroit.
Facing a two-goal deficit after Patrick Kane doubled the lead for the Red Wings on a 5-on-3 power play in the second period, Brad Marchand scored to halve the deficit for the Panthers and make it 2-1 before the second intermission.
Late in regulation, Mason Appleton and Michael Rasmussen each added empty-net goals for Detroit.
Unable to get enough pucks on net, Florida had 22 shots blocked in defeat.
“I liked our start tonight better than our last game,” Maurice said. “A little slow sometimes getting the puck off our stick. We had an awful lot blocked in here tonight.”
Carrying a hot stick for the Panthers, Brad Marchand has found the back of the net in each of the last three games and is tied with Anton Lundell for the team-lead in points with five.
After making 17 saves in his season debut at Philadelphia on Monday, Daniil Tarasov is expected to man the crease against the Devils after backing up Sergei Bobrovsky in Detroit.
“He was good,” Maurice said after Tarasov’s debut against the Flyers. “He gets across the net real hard, talks to his D-men. He was fine. Most of the action he got was higher end.”
Celebrating their home opener tonight, the Devils went 2-1-0 on their three-game road trip.
After losing at Carolina, they picked up wins at Tampa Bay and Columbus.
In their most-recent outing, Dawson Mercer scored a pair of goals to lift the Devils to a 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Monday.
After Jacob Markstrom was injured, Jake Allen was stellar in relief for New Jersey, stopping 23 of 24 shots to keep Columbus at bay.
With Markstrom dealing with a lower-body injury, Allen is likely to start against Florida.
Sitting atop the team’s scoring leaderboard, Jesper Bratt and Luke Hughes have each posted four points through three games for the Devils. Behind them, four other players have recorded at least three points, with Timo Meier and Mercer each having scored two goals.
Over the past three seasons, the Panthers own a 5-4-0 record against the Devils.
“Next game comes fast,” forward Eetu Luostarinen said. “We have to move on.”
THEY SAID IT
“Whatever line he goes on, they get some action. He’s such a positive guy on the bench even when things aren’t where you want them, and it translates to the way he plays on the ice.” – Paul Maurice on Brad Marchand
“I think we’ve been really good on the kill. A lot of the same guys [from last year]. It helps. We know the routes and what we’re doing.” – Eetu Luostarinen on the penalty kill
FIVE CATS STATS
- A.J. Greer leads Florida with 19 hits.
- The Panthers are 14-for-15 on the penalty kill.
- Brad Marchand has a team-high 16 shots.
- Anton Lundell is winning 58.7% of his faceoffs.
- Gustav Forsling owns a team-high +3 plus-minus rating.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Luke Kunin – Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Daniil Tarasov
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Oct. 15: D Donovan Sebrango claimed off waivers from Ottawa
- Oct. 13: D Tobias Bjornfot recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Oct. 12: F Jonah Gadjovich agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, October 16 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Prudential Center – Newark, NJ
TV: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 104.3 WQAM-FM/560 WQAM-AM (Dade/Broward); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers App; NHL App; SiriusXM 221 / App & Streaming 931
How to Watch: Click Here
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