Paul Maurice prioritizes chemistry and special teams by deploying his projected NHL regulars for a physical rematch in Raleigh as roster cuts and Opening Night loom large.
The Florida Panthers are set to embark on their first road trip of the 2026 preseason.
Fresh off a fun 6-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night in Sunrise, the Panthers are taking a very similar roster up to Raleigh for a rematch with the Canes on Tuesday night.
Speaking after Florida’s morning skate, head coach Paul Maurice reiterated that he wants to get his potential Opening Night players some time on the ice during the early parts of training camp and the preseason before giving them a solid chunk of practice time before the season begins.
“We’ve got some new people here, we had a big chunk of time off this summer, we thought…get our returning players into games,” Maurice said. “When we come off this (road trip to Carolina) we’ve got four days of practice, a day off from practice, and we’re gone, so we have to get special teams time on the ice, and it’s difficult to do that when you run a split group.”
That means over the next few days, there could be a shift in how the Panthers split up their players in regard to ice time at the Baptist Health Ice Plex as they gear up for Opening Night on Sept. 29.
“For the most part, you’ll see the camp almost bifurcated into returning players and then kind of try out players in the next two games,” he said. “And then we’ll get to special teams this week.”
The only changes in Florida’s lineup from Sunday to Tuesday is physical forward Boko Imama slotting in on the fourth line, taking the place of Jack Devine, and goaltender Akira Schmid taking the spot of Cooper Black.
Imama has been skating with Lars Eller and Garnet Hathaway during training camp, two forwards expected to line up on Florida’s fourth line when Opening Night arrives.
“He’s a powerful skater and a heavy forechecker, and that is what we look for on that line to define our style of play.,” Maurice said of Imama. “He can get in and get on the body, and he’s got some really good speed and certainly not afraid to get into the corners.”
During Sunday’s win, the Panthers faced a Hurricanes roster that didn’t feature many of their NHL regulars. That will likely change on Tuesday.
Games like that during the preseason tend to go a certain way, though, as the last thing anybody wants is to get hurt during a meaningless exhibition matchup.
“I think the young guys are going to skate hard and they’ll compete real hard, they won’t finish plays like the veteran guys. Sometimes when you put two veteran teams out in training camp, you see a lot of bad habits because nobody is bumping anybody and it’s all about working their hands,” Maurice said.
Here are Florida’s projected lines and pairings for Tuesday’s preseason tilt in Raleigh:
Brady Tkachuk – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sandis Vilmanis
Cole Reinhardt – Cole Schwindt – Boko Imama
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Dmitry Kulikov – Radko Gudas
The goaltenders on the trip will be Jacob Markstrom and Schmid, and Maurice indicated that both could see some playing time.
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Photo caption: Sep 20, 2026; Sunrise,Florida, USA;FloridaPantherscenter Aleksander Barkov (16) and Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi (82) prepare for the opening face-off during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
