SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will continue to make their final pre-playoff preparations when they host the Buffalo Sabres at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
Sitting at 46-29-4 with three games left to play, the Panthers (96 points) currently trail the Tampa Bay Lightning (98 points) by two points for second place in the Atlantic Division.
“It’s an important game,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “It’ll be challenging for our guys to pick up the reads. There’s a lot of motion, a lot of inter-changing, some very dynamic, very skilled players. We’re going to push some guys into minutes they’re not used to.”
After losing five straight games with a multitude of players missing from their lineup, the Panthers have won each of their last two games while outscoring the opposition 7-2.
In their last outing, the defending Stanley Cup champions rode a three-goal second period to a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. Evan Rodrigues Mackie Samoskevich, Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand all scored, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves.
For Marchand, it was his first goal since joining the Panthers.
“I’m just enjoying this journey,” said Marchand, a key addition at the trade deadline. “Such a unique experience for myself. I’ve been part of some really good teams that have accomplished big things and some that haven’t. You realize that these opportunities are very few and far between. You got to enjoy every day in this league and I’m having a lot of fun right now.”
Trying to get as healthy as possible heading into the playoffs, the Panthers will take the ice without several of their regulars against the Sabres, including their top two scorers in Sam Reinhart and Barkov, who have combined for 148 points (57 goals, 91 assists) this season.
Aaron Ekblad (suspension), Sam Bennett (upper body), Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) and Matthew Tkachuk (lower body) also remain out.
Cleared to return to team activities earlier this week, Ekblad is thrilled to be back.
"To be back with the team is unbelievable,” he said. “One of the better days."
Giving Bobrovsky a breather, Vitek Vanecek will start for Florida.
In 14 career games against Buffalo, he’s gone 11-2-1 with a .921 save percentage.
Set to miss the playoffs for the 14th straight season – the longest postseason drought in NHL history – the Sabres currently sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division at 35-37-6.
That being said, they’ve been enjoying a late-season surge.
Since March 23, the Sabres have gone 8-2-0 while scoring a league-high 45 goals.
Over those 10 games, they’ve scored at least five goals on five occasions.
Spreading out the offense, Alex Tuch has racked up a team-high 13 points (eight goals, five assists) during that run, while five other players have also recorded at least 10 points: Ryan McLeod (12), Tage Thompson (11), Rasmus Dahlin (11), Jack Quinn (10) and JJ Peterka (10).
Of Thompson’s team-high 44 goals this season, 10 have come during that hot stretch.
Starting five of the last six games, James Reimer could possibly get the nod in net against the Panthers. Owning a 9-7-2 record with a .911 save percentage, the 37-year-old veteran has posted a 7-1-0 record with a .918 save percentage over his last eight appearances.
After suffering at 5-2 loss at Buffalo on Oct. 12, the Panthers have come out on top in each of their last two meetings with the Sabres, winning 5-2 on Oct. 28 and then 4-0 on March 8.
In the season series, 15 different Panthers have notched at least one point.
“They get to have a different kind of fun,” Maurice said of the Sabres. “They get to be relaxed. The play that maybe you don’t make because there’s danger to it and that if the other team picks it off and it’s in the back of your net and that costs two you points and costs you the playoffs, those plays aren’t there. They’re making those plays. They can play very quickly. They play fast. They have a very high skill level. They’re playing the game they’re meant to play, maybe. They’re hard to handle, for sure. They’re putting up huge numbers.”
For fans attending tonight’s game, make sure to be in your seats by 5:30 p.m. ET to watch this year’s Panthers Awards.
THEY SAID IT
"It's pretty awesome. I just signed here two years ago, and I was just hoping for a little sniff, maybe a couple games. Now I'm here at 100." – Uvis Balinskis on skating in his 100th NHL game tonight
"It's obviously a ton of rest. My body hasn't felt this good since Game 1 of the season. It's almost like a mini training camp. It's the best I've felt in a while, for sure." – Aaron Ekblad on his time away from the Panthers
FIVE CATS STATS
- Nate Schmidt has notched four points (1G, 3A) in three games vs. Buffalo this season.
- The Panthers have gone 33-9-0 when scoring first.
- Gustav Forsling boasts a team-high +33 plus/minus rating.
- Since March 1, Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov have each tallied 15 points.
- The Panthers rank ninth in the NHL with a 81.2% success rate on the penalty kill.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Mackie Samoskevich
Jesper Boqvist – Nico Sturm – Jesse Puljujarvi
A.J. Greer – Rasmus Asplund – Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Uvis Balinskis
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Jaycob Megna – Nate Schmidt
Goaltenders
Vitek Vanecek
Sergei Bobrovsky
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- April 6: F Jesse Puljujarvi recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 6: F Rasmus Asplund recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 6: D Matt Kiersted recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 2: D Jaycob Megna recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 2: D Tobias Bjornfot assigned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, April 12 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Theme: Fan Appreciation Night
Giveaway: Upper Deck Cards
Tickets: Click Here
