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    David Dwork
    Dec 17, 2025, 12:00
    Updated at: Dec 17, 2025, 12:00

    Fueled by an encouraging road trip, the Panthers begin a three-game homestand looking to build off their recent success and make some ground in the standings.

    The Florida Panthers are back home after completing a successful four-game road trip.

    Picking up six of a possible eight points away from South Florida, the Cats will now enjoy some extended time at home for the holidays, with only one road game coming up between now and Jan. 6.

    The fun starts on Wednesday night when Florida begins a three-game homestand against the Los Angeles Kings.

    This will be the second and final meeting of the season between the Cats and Kings, following Florida’s 5-2 victory at Crypto.com Arena back on Nov. 6.

    More recently, several Panthers players have stepped up over the past few weeks to help carry the load offensively.

    Perhaps the hottest Florida player has been Carter Verhaeghe. The new dad has racked up eight goals and 16 points over his past 10 games.

    Sam Bennett has also picked his game up after a slow start to the season, accumulating seven goals and 16 points over his past 14 outings.

    Anton Lundell has quietly contributed with four goals and eight points over his past nine games and has been operating at a nearly point-per-game pace for the majority of the season.

    Eetu Luostarinen has points in three of his six appearances since returning from an injury absence, and it’s worth noting that Florida has won five of those six games.

    The two players who have carried much of the offensive load this season, Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart, each played a crucial role in Florida wrapping up their road trip with wins in Dallas and Tampa.

    Marchand and Reinhart combined for five goals and eight points in the two games, and they continue to lead the Panthers with 35 and 32 points, respectively.

    As for the Kings, they arrive in South Florida looking to snap a three-game winless skid.

    Overall, Los Angeles has had a solid start to their season.

    They enter play Wednesday with a 14-9-9 record, good for the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference and one point back of third-place Edmonton in the Pacific Division.

    Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Wednesday’s clash with the Kings:

    Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart

    Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand

    Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – A.J. Greer

    Noah Gregor – Jack Studnicka – Jesper Boqvist

    Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

    Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones

    Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry

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    Photo caption: Dec 7, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the New York Islanders during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)