Florida players will hit the ice in front of their home fans for first time since Stanley Cup Final
The 2023-24 NHL season started nine days ago.
On Thursday, finally, the Florida Panthers will play a home game.
It should be a special moment when Florida's 2023 Eastern Conference Champions banner is unveiled.
While the Panthers came up just short of their Stanley Cup goal, the experience of the playoff run and everything that came with it left a profound impact on many of the players.
"I've been looking forward to this one for a few months now," Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk said on Wednesday. "The energy that (the fans) left us with in the playoffs was something that I'll remember forever."
During their season opening three-game road trip, Florida was on the visiting end of a pair of home openers in Minnesota and Winnipeg. The Panthers were outscored 8-4 in those games, dropping both.
Now they'll be on the receiving end of all that energy and affection.
Perhaps it will give the boys a boost.
Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice said the team was "really excited" to play on home ice after returning from their trip and expects a fun atmosphere at Amerant Bank Arena.
"We'll have a live building and I'll enjoy that experience, but it's great for the players to play in front of their guys," Maurice said.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Thursday's game against Toronto:
Evan Rodrigues – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Eetu Luostarinen – Matthew Tkachuk
Nick Cousins – Anton Lundell – Justin Sourdif
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Stenlund – Steven Lorenz
Gus Forsling – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura – Uvis Balinskis
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to get the start in goal for Florida. He's started each of the Panthers three games so far this season.
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