Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
Oct 8, 2026 12:17 PM
Updated Oct 8, 2026 12:38 PM
Jacob Markstrom’s stellar goaltending and Florida's elite five-on-five play powered the Panthers to a six-point road trip, overcoming scoring and special teams struggles.
The Florida Panthers are finally returning home.
Florida opened their 2026-27 schedule with a bit of a gauntlet, playing four straight road games to start the season, including three across the country in California.
Of the four opponents, three of them were playoff teams last year, one of which just happened to win the Stanley Cup.
The Panthers started the trip by defeating the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes 1-0 in overtime, then followed it up with a pair of OT defeats in San Jose and Anaheim.
Finally on Tuesday night, Florida played a game that only required sixty minutes of hockey.
It was a low-scoring, tight-checking affair that saw the Panthers take down the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 thanks to a late goal by Matthew Tkachuk and some excellent goaltending from Jacob Markstrom.
“Marky was amazing to keep it 1-1 for so long,” Tkachuk said afterwards.
Solid play between the pipes has been a constant through the veteran netminder’s first three games back with the Panthers.
So far Markstrom holds a strong 2-0-1 record to go with an impressive .927 save percentage and tidy 1.27 goals against average.
“He’s been unbelievable,” said Panthers defenseman Seth Jones. “A great goaltender and great person off the ice, blended with us chemistry-wise away from the rink perfectly in the locker room. We want to play in front of him. He’s been special to start this season, a lot of big saves and some breakaways as well. He’s been a rock back there.”
Digging a little deeper, Markstrom has stopped 13 of the 15 high danger shots he’s faced, with a high danger goals saved above average at 0.98. He’s allowed four total goals on 55 shots, with an expected goals against of 6.51, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“Oh, has he been good,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “He’s made some huge saves. A lot of those nights you play really hard and then your power play gets in one, and your goalie bails it out. So we all get to be in a good mood for three days instead of not, based off his play.”
On the whole, Maurice was pleased with the team’s overall effort on the road.
This early in the season there are surely things to clean up and bear down on for every team, so for the Panthers to come back after four straight on the road with more than a handful of points, that’s a big win.
“It’s been a really good trip,” said Maurice. “I like our 5-on-5 game an awful lot. I think we gave up 11 even strength shots tonight. They’re battling and they’re dialed in, they’re not cheating the game, so I’m very pleased with the road trip.”
Indeed, Florida played some very solid hockey at even strength.
Through the four games, the Panthers have given up only two goals when playing 5-on-5.
Special teams is another story, with the Cats going just 1-for-23 on the power play and 4-for-19 on the penalty kill.
“Six out of eight (points) is a great road trip,” said Jones. “All tight games, could have easily gone 4-0, and we played some pretty good teams. I think we did a lot of good things, not a lot of 5-on-5 chances or goals that we gave up. If we clean up the special teams a bit moving forward, we’ll be in pretty good shape.”
“We had 2-1 filth tonight to finish off the road trip,” added Tkachuk. “If you would’ve told me at the beginning of the trip we’d take six of eight (points), I would’ve signed on the dotted line.”
Indeed, earning points in all four games of a long road trip and coming home with six of a possible eight is a result that anybody would take without hesitation.
Looking ahead, Florida still has a heavy road schedule for the rest of the month.
Only three of their next nine games will be played in Sunrise, including Saturday’s home opener against the Minnesota Wild.
Based off the early results, the Panthers could be in store for another exciting season with championship aspirations.
“It’s fun, you’re in every game and there’s a chance to win,” said Markstrom. “We have a great team and play a great system.”
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Photo caption: Oct 1, 2026; San Jose, California, USA;FloridaPanthersleft wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates his goal during the third period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. (Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images)
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