Florida remains one point behind Pittsburgh for the final Wild Card position
Florida remains one point behind Pittsburgh for the final Wild Card position
In a matter of days, the narrative around the Florida Panthers have gone from a team playing its best hockey of the season and barreling toward a playoff spot to one that is stumbling at the worst time.
Florida lost consecutive games in regulation, Tuesday in Philadelphia and Thursday at home to Toronto, for the first time since New Year’s Day.
They were defeated on the second night of a road back-to-back and then lost to a very good team after returning from the trip.
It’s nothing unheard of and, aside from the time of year, nothing overly alarming.
Defenseman and alternate captain Aaron Ekblad said the team’s approach Saturday against the New York Rangers will remain the same.
“Prepare as best we can for what they’re going to do,” he said. “At the end of the day it's all about us and how we counter, so it's important that we take control of the game early.”
Florida remains in the thick of the playoff race.
They sit one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and three back of the New York Islanders for the two Wild Card spots. All three teams have 10 games left to play.
Some might call these final games must-win for Florida, but as Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice explained, they’ve been in playoff-mode for a while.
“I don't know that we haven't felt that way for two months,” he said while mentioning the Panthers were nine points back of a playoff spot just a few months ago.
It’ll be a bit of a different mindset for the Rangers, who enter Saturday’s game comfortably in second place of the Metropolitan Division. They’ve been coasting toward the postseason, currently riding a 7-1-1 stretch over their past nine games.
New York is fresh off a home-and-home with the Carolina Hurricanes this week, with each team winning in the others’ barn.
LINEUP NOTES
Sam Bennett’s status for the game won’t be known until a couple hours before puck drop.
He missed Florida's last game Thursday against Toronto after leaving Tuesday's game in Philly during the third period.
He's considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, though Maurice did say it's something Bennett has dealt with before.
If Bennett can’t go, expect Eetu Luostarinen to center the second line in Bennett’s spot, with Anton Lundell sliding up to the top line left wing and Eric Staal centering the third line.
Neither team has announced a starting goalie yet. Sergei Bobrovsky is the expected starter for Florida and reining Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin will likely get the nod for the Rangers.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Aaron Ekblad on the 5 p.m. game time: “Bit of an early start, (though) not as early as those one or two o'clock games. It’s important to get a strong first period and create a sense of control.
Paul Maurice on getting back on track: “There's a bounce back factor in our game. The Philadelphia game was different than (the Toronto game). We got to beat in a specific area that we've been pretty good, net front on both (ends). They’ve got a different style of game that the Rangers play as relates to Toronto, but that's an area that we got to get better at, and we’ve got to clean up a little bit. We've got (to be) a little stronger in front of theirs and little stronger in front of ours for sure.”
Ekblad on defensive keys to the game: “Limit time and space. It starts in the offensive zone for us as defenseman, and for our forwards. It's a strong back check with good gaps by the defensemen and finding a way to force them to dump as many pucks as possible. That's kind of the game plan.”
PARTY ON THE TARMAC
After the game, the Panthers will host CATZ B Side, an electronic music event taking place just outside the front entrance of FLA Live Arena.
Access to the event will be free to the first 5,000 fans with a ticket from Saturday's game. Tickets can be purchased for $29 to anyone not holding a game ticket.
According to the team, "The Panthers utilized Carbon Arc's data-driven terminal to identify the most highly-streamed artists in South Florida and teamed up with leading dance music media platform, We Rave You, to bring Öwnboss, Mark Sixma, MR.BLACK & Sam Blacky to the Catz B Side stage."
The 'CATZ B Side' performance lineup:
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