SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will be looking to build off a very strong start to their homestand when they welcome the Anaheim Ducks to Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.
Sitting at 5-5-0, the Panthers have posted a 4-1-0 record at home this season.
“I think we like playing at home,” said head coach Paul Maurice, who noted that team’s vast injuries have placed an increased importance on having last change. “With some of our challenges here, the matchup matters more, where it hasn’t in the past.”
Getting back to their blueprint in their last outing, the Panthers kept one of the top offenses in the NHL off the scoreboard during a 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
Sam Reinhart, A.J. Greer and Cole Schwindt, who made his season debut, all touched twine in the win, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves to earn his 50th career shutout.
Spending much of the game in the offensive zone, Florida led 38-18 in scoring chances.
“I think we’ve just been doing better work on defense,” defenseman Uvis Balinskis said. “We worked a little in practice for the offensive zone, and I think it’s been working out.”
Testing their depth again, the Panthers will be missing two more forwards against the Ducks as Jonah Gadjovich (upper body) and Brad Marchand (personal reasons) are both unavailable.
Luke Kunin will slot back into the lineup, while Noah Gregor will make his season debut.
Turning a professional try-out into a one-year, two-way contract with the Panthers during training camp, Gregor has recorded 70 points (36G, 34A) in 293 career NHL games.
"Very excited,” Gregor said of putting on a new jersey. “It's been a long time coming here, waiting around. I'm ready to go. The team's been playing well. I'm excited to get in."
Between the pipes, Daniil Tarasov will get the start for the Panthers.
Across the ice, the Ducks arrive to South Florida with a 4-3-1 record.
The final stop on a five-game trip, the Ducks enter tonight’s tilt looking to rebound from a 4-3 loss on the other side of Alligator Alley against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
After Troy Terry scored the game-tying goal for the Ducks at 8:10 of the third period, Anthony Cirelli responded with a power-play goal to put the Lightning up 4-3 at 16:45.
Tied atop the team’s scoring leaderboard, Terry and Leo Carlsson have each logged nine points, while Mikael Granlund sits in second with eight points (2G, 6A). Two other pieces of the team’s young core, Cutter Gauthier and Mason McTavish each have seven points.
Also dealing with a multitude of injuries, Granlund (lower-body), Radko Gudas (lower-body) and Chris Kreider (illness) all did not skate at Ducks practice on Monday.
All three are considered day-to-day, per reports.
Yet to announce a starter, Anaheim could roll with Lukas Dostal or Petr Mrazek in net. Dostal has started six of eight games thus far, going 2-3-1 with a .899 save percentage. Backing him up, Mrazek has gone 2-0-0 despite posting a paltry .831 save percentage.
Last season, Florida swept its series with Anaheim 2-0, leading 8-2 in those games.
“They’ve got some players out of their lineup,” Maurice said. “They’ve got a new coach, young skill, lots of excitement, so they play off that. The danger with all those teams is they can break something loose very quickly on you. You have to skate, but check very hard.”
THEY SAID IT
“It’s a brand-new team. Significant pieces are out, so you have to find groups that can fit together, the chemistry, then chart a direction with a style of game. There has been a shift [this season]. … I think it’s style of game. It’s not the core foundation of what we believe or how we want to play, but we are going to look different.” – Paul Maurice on Florida’s first 10 games
“We’ve got things to improve and build on, but every team is giving their best against us. There’s no free points in this league. We need to battle for every point. That’s the main thing.” – Niko Mikkola on Florida’s first 10 games
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers are 9-0-1 in their last 10 home games vs. Anaheim.
- The Panthers are 3-0-0 when A.J. Greer scores this season.
- Mackie Samoskevich has tallied a team-high five points on the power play.
- Anton Lundell is winning 54.9% of his draws.
- Florida ranks 10th in the NHL with 208 shots on goal at 5-on-5.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Mackie Samoskevich
A.J. Greer – Sam Bennett – Jesper Boqvist
Noah Gregor – Cole Schwindt – Luke Kunin
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
Goaltenders
Daniil Tarasov
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Oct. 27: D Tobias Bjornfot reassigned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Oct. 15: D Donovan Sebrango claimed off waivers from Ottawa
- Oct. 13: D Tobias Bjornfot recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Tuesday, October 28 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 560 WQAM-AM (Dade/Broward); 106.3 WESP-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; NHL app; SiriusXM 221 / App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click Here
