PHILADELPHIA – The Florida Panthers will kick off their first road trip of the 2025-26 season with a battle against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Monday.
Getting off to a strong and steady start in defense of their second straight Stanley Cup, the Panthers hit the road on the heels of a 3-0-0 homestand in which they earned wins over Chicago (3-2), Philadelphia (2-1) and, most recently, Ottawa (6-2).
Over those three wins, Florida trailed for a total of just 1:03.
“There’s a lot to like about it,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said of the team’s hot start. “Our power play has been really good. Starting off at home, we’ve been playing good defensively. We’re just building our game. Getting off a 3-0 start is obviously nice. Just keep building.”
Closing out their homestand, the Panthers looked dominant against the Senators on Saturday.
Scoring two goals in each period, the Panthers, who are missing both Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, had six different players light the lamp in the win: Brad Marchand, Evan Rodrigues, Aaron Ekblad, Anton Lundell, Mackie Samoskevich and Sam Reinahrt.
Netting a pair of power-play goals, Florida is operating at 41.7% with the extra attacker this season.
“It’s huge for confidence as a group,” Verhaeghe said.
Between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 of 28 shots against the Senators.
Named the Third Star of the Week in the NHL for the week ending Oct. 12, Bobrovsky has raced out to a 3-0-0 start with a 1.67 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.
Set to make his Panthers debut, Daniil Tarasov will get the nod against Philadelphia.
Inked to a one-year contract, Tarasov, who looked very comfortable in the preseason, is just two seasons removed from posting a .908 save percentage in 24 games with Columbus in 2023-24.
“Very, very powerful across the ice,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Very strong. He controls his body well across the ice. Similar to Sergei, what we’ve liked is his ability to mentally stay in the game through the whole game even in blocks of time where he didn’t get a lot of action. We’re excited for him.”
Celebrating their home opener, the Flyers are off to a 0-1-1 start.
After suffering a 2-1 loss to the Panthers on opening night, they were handed a 4-3 overtime loss against the Hurricanes in their last outing on Saturday.
Noah Cates, who scored the lone goal against Florida, is tied with Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster for first on the Flyers in scoring with two points. After them, five other players have tallied one point.
Splitting their goaltenders in their first two games, the Flyers have already seen both Daniel Vladar and Samuel Ersson. Vladar stopped 32 of 34 shots against the Panthers, while Ersson, who led the team in starts last season, stopped 35 of 39 shots against Carolina.
Over their past five meetings, the Panthers own a 4-1-0 record against the Flyers.
“They’re a good team,” Verhaeghe said. “They play hard. They’re a really strong, physical team. They get on the forecheck. They have good sticks. For us, it’s stick to our game and do what we do.”
THEY SAID IT
“Being on the road is always fun. We missed it a little bit - being together, going out for dinners and stuff like that. It’s a lot of time together.” – Carter Verhaeghe on the first road trip of the season
"I come to the rink every day and have a lot of fun. I just love this group of guys. ... My biggest thing is I don't want to play anywhere else. I want to stay here. I want to be with this group." – Jonah Gadjovich on his two-year contract extension
“Really liked him. Uvis played a whole lot of hockey for us last year. We view him as an NHL defenseman. I would’ve understood if it wasn’t right on or he was a little nervous, but then you realize he’s been here for a while. He was really good in the game. Very, very quick; very decisive, physical and fast.” – Paul Maurice on Uvis Balinskis’ season debut vs. Ottawa
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers have had nine different players score a goal this season.
- Florida has gone 7-for-7 on the penalty kill to start the season.
- Sam Reinhart has scored 18 goals in 35 career games vs. Philadelphia.
- Evan Rodrigues enters tonight’s matchup on a three-game point streak.
- The Panthers have allowed just one goal at 5-on-5 when Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling have been deployed together through the first three games this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – 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. 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: Monday, October 13 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena – Philadelphia, PA
TV: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 106.3 WESP-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; NHL App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
How to Watch: Click Here
