Searching for 10th straight win, Panthers host tough Devils squad
Florida is being led by a multitude of players who are riding impressive scoring runs
The Florida Panthers will look to do something that’s only been done twice in 30 years when they take the ice at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
Florida has won nine consecutive games entering their matchup with the New Jersey Devils.
A Panthers victory would mark only the third time in franchise history that Florida could boast a winning streak of at least ten games.
They’ll have to get past a tough Devils squad first, though.
New Jersey arrives in South Florida looking to avoid a third straight loss after falling 4-3 in overtime Thursday night in Tampa Bay.
The Devils are dealing with injuries to several key players, with Timo Meier, Ondrej Palat and Jack Hughes are going down since the calendar flipped to 2024. Jersey was already playing without Tomas Nosek and Dougie Hamilton, both of whom were injured back in November.
One battle that will be interesting to watch will be between Florida’s penalty kill and the Devils’ power play.
Steadily improving as the season has gone on, Florida’s penalty kill is up to fifth in the league, tied with Calgary at an 84.0% success rate, while New Jersey holds the third-best power play in the league, converting at a 28.3% clip.
In addition to the winning streak, the Panthers also have several players who are on impressive scoring runs.
Matthew Tkachuk has 7 goals and 16 points over his past seven games.
Sam Reinhart has 13 goals and 16 points in his past 12 games. He’s also racked up 28 points in his past 21 games.
His linemate, Panthers captain Sasha Barkov, has dished out 15 assists over his past nine games.
Over a seven-game points streak, Carter Verhaeghe has 6 goals and 13 points. He’s also earned 18 points during his past 12 outings.
On defense, Gus Forsling has 8 points over his past nine games and Oliver Ekman-Larsson has 5 points in his past six.
Will any or all of them keep the good times rolling against New Jersey?
The puck drops at 6 p.m. in Sunrise.
Here are Florida’s projected lines and pairings ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Devils:
Evan Rodrigues – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Ryan Lomberg
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Will Lockwood
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
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