The Florida Panthers will aim for their third straight victory when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. Florida has won back-to-back games, both against the Detroit Red Wings, outscoring their divisional rival 7-4 between victories during a home and home series that occurred on Friday in Motown and Tuesday in Sunrise. Now the Cats will shift their attention to another team trying to cement their position in the race to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Entering play Thursday, the Blue Jackets are the first team out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Columbus trails the Boston Bruins by two points for the final Wild Card spot, each team still with 18 games remaining on their respective schedules. As for Florida, their consecutive wins did little to help them make up ground in the playoff race. The Panthers are currently 11 points behind Boston, with four teams between them. If the Cats keep winning and turn their modest two-game streak into one that’s double-digits, they can find their way back into the case for a playoff spot. But that’s a big if. Ahead of Thursday’s game, Florida called up defenseman Mike Benning from AHL Charlotte. A day earlier, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said that the playing status for defenseman Uvis Balinskis was up in the air due to the aggravation of an injury he sustained a couple weeks ago against Buffalo. Balinskis won't play, meaning Benning will step in and make his NHL debut. He'll be on a pairing with Niko Mikkola. Florida selected Benning in the fourth-round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He’s played each of the past three seasons with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, racking up 26 goals and 89 points in 182 games, to go with 124 penalty minutes and a plus-16 on-ice rating. He was on the ice for Florida's optional morning skate Thursday at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale. Maurice also said that Carter Verhaeghe may or may not play Thursday after something tightened up on the forward following his two-goal effort on Tuesday against Detroit. Verhaeghe was also on the ice [https://x.com/J_McPherson1126/status/2032095033252315560] for Florida's morning skate, but he and Anton Lundell will both be held out of the lineup, Maurice said. Between the pipes, the Cats will turn to Sergei Bobrovsky. Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Thursday’s battle with the Blue Jackets: A.J. Greer – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk Eetu Luostarinen – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart Cole Reinhardt – Tomas Nosek – Jesper Boqvist Mackie Samoskevich – Luke Kunin – Vinnie Hinostroza Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad Niko Mikkola – Mike Benning Donovan Sebrango – Dmitry Kulikov Extras: Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Uvis Balinskis LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Verhaeghe, Balinskis Held Out Of Panthers Practice, Reinhart Returns [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/verhaeghe-balinskis-held-out-of-panthers-practice-reinhart-returns] Coach Paul Maurice Provides Updates On Pair Of Key Injured Panthers Players [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/coach-paul-maurice-provides-updates-on-pair-of-key-injured-panthers-players] Carter Verhaeghe Scores 2 Late Goals , Panthers Earn Thrilling Comeback Victory Over Detroit [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/carter-verhaeghe-score-2-late-goals-panthers-earn-thrilling-comeback-victory-over-detroit] Panthers' Aleksander Barkov Takes Another Positive Step In Recovery Process [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-aleksander-barkov-takes-another-positive-step-in-recovery-process] Panthers Will Be Without Top Two Leading Scorers When They Host Detroit In Sunrise [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-will-be-without-top-two-leading-scorers-when-they-host-detroit-in-sunrise]
