SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will kick off their six-game homestand with a pre-Thanksgiving showdown against the Philadelphia Flyers at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday.
Sitting at 12-9-1, the Panthers boast a stellar 8-3-1 record in Sunrise.
“I think we’ve done a pretty good job so far this year, and we’re going to have to continue to do that,” forward Evan Rodrigues said of defending home ice. “Our schedule gets tough after these next few weeks, especially in the new year, being on the road quite a bit. You have to take advantage of these homestands. We have to continue to put emphasis on it.”
Picking up their fifth win in their last seven games, the Panthers enter tonight’s matchup on the heels of an 8-3 beatdown of the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Monday.
Twelve different Panthers cracked the scoresheet in the win, with A.J. Greer (2G, 1A), who broke the ice 11 seconds into the game, Sam Reinhart (1G, 2A), Carter Verhaeghe (1G, 2A), Uvis Balinskis (2A), Gustav Forsling (1G, 1A) and Rodrigues (1G, 1A) all registering multiple points.
Between the pipes, Daniil Tarasov stopped 36 of 39 shots.
“It won’t look like that against Philly,” head coach Paul Maurice said when asked about the team’s scoring spree in the Music City. “Why can’t you just score eight every night? Well, the way the play is going to minimize some of our chances. We have to be mentally comfortable with that.”
Marchand leads the Panthers in scoring with 25 points (13G, 12A), while Reinhart ranks second with 21 points (13G, 8A). Red-hot in recent weeks, Reinhart enters tonight’s tilt on a seven-game point streak in which he’s amassed six goals and seven assists for 13 points.
On the blue line, Forsling will skate in his 500th career NHL game tonight.
"It's something I probably didn't' expect growing up,” the skillful Swede said. “It's very cool."
Owning an 11-7-3 record, the Flyers have won three of their last five games but enter tonight’s matchup looking to rebound from a 3-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Monday.
Not generating much on offense, Philadelphia had only 20 shots on goal in the loss.
Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in the offseason as an intriguing reclamation project, former first-round pick Trevor Zegras has flourished in his first season with the Flyers. In 21 games, the 24-year-old forward leads the team in goals (7), assists (14) and points (21).
Second in scoring, Travis Konecny has logged 17 points (5G, 12A).
Wrapping up their season series, the Panthers and Flyers split their first two meetings this season, which each team claiming a win on home ice. After the Panthers earned a 2-1 win in Sunrise on Oct. 9, the Flyers secured a 5-2 win in their own barn just a few days later on Oct. 13.
For the Panthers, Sergei Bobrovsky, who began his career in Philadelphia, will get the nod in net tonight. In 16 appearances this season, the veteran goaltender owns a 10-6-0 record with a .887 save percentage.
Across the ice, Dan Vladar could possibly get the start after backing up Samuel Ersson against the Lightning. In 13 appearances this season, Vladar owns an 8-4-1 record with a .912 save percentage.
“A harder game, I think,” Rodrigues said when asked about he expects against the Flyers. “More defensive minded, more tight checking. Nashville was a little bit loose and like to open things up, so you kind of don’t have a choice but to get spread out because that’s kind of the way they play. Tonight, I think you’ll see more of a tight-checking closer game.”
THEY SAID IT
“If we start the way we did last game, we’ll be great. Just keep it simple. Coming from the road, we got a good feeling from that game, so keep building.” – Gustav Forsling
“How hard you see him (Gustav Forsling) work on the ice, he has the same motivation and work ethic off the ice.” – Evan Rodrigues
“I think 20 games in is the start of the season, not the first five. At 20, there’s usually a reason why you are where you are in the standings. This is a year that I haven’t seen before. The teams that are two or three points on the outside, some are considered strong playoff teams. Then, the lead dog isn’t 12 points ahead of the eighth-place team. This is very compact because all those rebuilds are coming into strength.” – Paul Maurice
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers are 7-3-0 in their last 10 home games against the Flyers in Sunrise.
- Jesper Boqvist is three points away from his 100th NHL point.
- Florida ranks fifth in the NHL in November with 42 goals.
- Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart and Seth Jones each have eight power-play points.
- The Panthers have scored 20 goals over their last four games.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Mackie Samoskevich – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
Jesper Boqvist – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – A.J. Greer
Luke Kunin – Noah Gregor – Jack Devine
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Nov. 19: F Jack Devine was recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- Oct. 27: D Tobias Bjornfot reassigned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Wednesday, November 26 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 560 WQAM-AM (Dade/Broward); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM 221/App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click here
