Florida’s man advantage debuted a lethal new look against Carolina, utilizing Brady Tkachuk’s size and recovery skills to spark an immediate, high-octane offensive connection on special teams.
The first preseason game for the Florida Panthers gave a glimpse into how certain elements of the team may look when regular season begins next week.
Florida’s first power play of the game brought an interesting look into how the Panthers and assistant coach Jamie Kompon, who runs the team’s man advantage, would deploy the team’s high-end unit.
As it turned out, the group looked fairly similar to how they’ve been deployed in the past, with one big difference.
Sasha Barkov set up on the right side with Seth Jones running point and Matthew Tkachuk working netfront, leaving Sam Reinhart to take his usual bumper spot between the circles.
The left side of the group, which has seen players move in and out in recent years, was taken up by Brady Tkachuk.
“It’s a little bit different than most power plays because we don’t have that right-handed shot on the back door, and that’s fine,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “It can be very effective with a lefty. It’s almost a certain style of player that you need over there. Brady has got some hands, he can make some plays, he also…for us, puck recovery is really important. Yeah, that could be good.”
During that first power play, it took the boys all of 38 seconds to cash in with a goal.
Reinhart went after a loose puck in the corner, poking it to Barkov who made a great play at the side of Carolina’s net, sending a between-the-legs backhand pass across the top of the crease to Matthew Tkachuk.
Chucky faked a one-timer, instead passing the puck back across the zone, to where Brady was waiting at the top of the left circle.
A quick windup and wrist shot later, the Panthers had their first goal of the evening.
It was an excellent debut for Florida’s new PP1.
“I think with us, you just can’t overcomplicate,” Brady Tkachuk said after the game. “I think today, we hadn’t had much practice time, so I think being simple is going to be our best friend. Sometimes you get carried away with that extra pass and trying to find it, but for us, just be simple, take advantage of what they give us, and we’ll see what the limit is there.”
The Panthers’ second power play unit also got some work in on Sunday.
Kompon’s PP2 was broken down like this:
Carter Verhaeghe lined up on the left side and Eetu Luostarinen was on the right, with Anton Lundell setting up shop down low, Sam Bennett working the bumper spot in the middle and Aaron Ekblad patrolling the point.
Overall, Florida went 1-for-4 on the power play against Carolina, logging eight shots on goal.
There will probably be one or two more preseason games in which Maurice dresses a more veteran lineup, which will potentially give the special teams units a few more opportunities to get in some work ahead of Opening Night.
Maurice also said there will be a stretch of days before the season starts that he will treat like the time between playoff series for his players to recover, recuperate and get in the film room to prepare for the battles to come, which will include special teams work.
For now, the Cats are hitting the road this week for road preseason games in Raleigh against the Hurricanes on Tuesday and in Tampa against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Florida will then return home and wrap up their preseason schedule Saturday night against Tampa.
After that, they’ll have four days to wait before the regular season opener in Carolina.
Buckle up!
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Photo caption: Sep 20, 2026; Sunrise,Florida, USA;FloridaPanthershead coach looks on from the bench during the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
