Florida faces a frigid Winnipeg and a resurgent Jets team. Can the Panthers heat up on their lengthy road journey?
The Florida Panthers are back on the road again.
After a brief stop in South Florida for Monday’s matchup with the San Jose Sharks, the Panthers boarded a plane on Wednesday bound for the great white north.
Assuming they can defrost, Florida will kick off a three-game road trip Thursday when they face the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.
Hopefully the Cats brought their fur layers, as the temperature on Thursday in Winnipeg has a high of minus-17 and a low of minus-22.
When they eventually hit the ice, Florida will be playing against a Jets squad that is desperately trying to bounce back from an atrocious stretch that took up most of November and December.
After winning nine of their first 12 games, the Jets went into a tailspin that peaked with an 11-game losing streak that ran from mid-December to early January.
They went from a strong 9-3-0 start to the season to holding a 15-22-5 mark on Jan. 8 (that’s a 6-19-5 run for those wondering).
Since ending the losing streak, Winnipeg has seemingly turned a corner, going 5-1-1 over the past couple weeks.
They will face a Florida squad that is also trying to make up ground and viewing every potential point in the standings as crucial.
It helps that the Panthers are getting healthier, welcoming Matthew Tkachuk into the lineup for the first time on Monday against San Jose.
With Tkachuk back in the fold, it’s just a matter of time before Florida’s forward ranks become as potent as they’ve been all season, which will happen when Brad Marchand is cleared to return.
“He’s certainly close, day-to-day,” Maurice said of Marchand, who has missed six straight games with an undisclosed injury. “Whether it happens on this road trip, I don’t know yet. We are just kind of building off how he comes in each day. He felt better today than he maybe expected to (after) he got through practice. So we’ll need him to wake up tomorrow at least, and then probably the next day, before we start feeling that he’s right there.”
For Maruice, any time Florida returns to Winnipeg, it’s a special night for him.
Maurice spent nine seasons coaching the Jets, leading them to the playoffs five times.
“I do look forward to it,” Maurice said of returning to Winnipeg. “There’s great memories in that place, so it’s a fun trip.”
Since joining the Panthers in 2022, Maurice has yet to see Florida pick up a victory in his old stomping grounds, going 0-3-0 in Winnipeg by a combined score of 14-5.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever won in there,” Maurice said with a smile. “Other than the final scores, it’s been good.”
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Thursday’s tussle in Winnipeg:
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – A.J. Greer
Sandis Vilmanis – Luke Kunin – Jesper Boqvist
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis
Tobias Bjornfot – Jeff Petry
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Photo caption: Nov 19, 2024; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) tries for a tip in on Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) in the third period at Canada Life Centre. (James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images)