The Florida Panthers will look to build off a strong win on Saturday in Ottawa as their season-long road trip continues against one of the hottest teams in the league. Florida is trying to make up ground in the playoff race, and one of the teams they are currently chasing are the surprising Buffalo Sabres. After losing three straight games in early December, Buffalo has been on a tear. They won 10 straight games through the end of the calendar year and are still riding an impressing 13-1-0 stretch. On Dec. 8, Buffalo was last in the conference and four points south of the next-worst team (which at the time was a tie between Ottawa and Florida). Since then, the Sabres have shot up the standings. Entering play Monday, Buffalo holds the top Wild Card spot with 52 points through 43 games. As for Florida, the Panthers are still anxiously waiting to bring a couple elite offensive players back into their lineup. Injured forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand are both on the brink of returning. Marchand has missed two straight games with an undisclosed injury and is considered day-to-day while Tkachuk has been working his way back from offseason adductor and sports hernia surgery. The Panthers will be off for a few days after Monday’s game in Buffalo, so it might make sense to hold both out one more game and give them a nice long stretch to heal and prepare, but we’ll see how things shake out when the Cats hit the ice. Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Monday’s matchup in Buffalo: Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – A.J. Greer Jesper Boqvist – Luke Kunin – Jack Studnicka Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis Donovan Sebrango – Jeff Petry LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Three takeaways: Special teams, Bobrovsky shine during win in Ottawa while Vilmanis earns high marks for strong NHL debut [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-special-team-bobrovsky-shine-during-win-in-ottawa-while-vilmanis-earns-high-marks-for-strong-nhl-debut] Panthers hold on for big win in Ottawa after dropping first two games on road trip [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-hold-on-for-big-win-in-ottawa-after-dropping-first-two-games-on-road-trip] Brad Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk remain out in Ottawa, Sandis Vilmanis to make NHL Debut for Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/brad-marchand-matthew-tkachuk-remain-out-in-ottawa-sandis-vilmanis-to-make-nhl-debut-for-panthers] Panthers arrive in Ottawa looking for first win on challenging road trip [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-arrive-in-ottawa-looking-for-first-win-on-challenging-road-trip] The Hockey Show: Struggling Panthers have hope on horizon, NHL latest with insider David Pagnotta [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/the-hockey-show-struggling-panthers-have-hope-on-horizon-nhl-latest-with-insider-david-pagnotta] Photo caption: Oct 18, 2025; Buffalo, New York, USA; Florida Panthers right wing Mackie Samoskevich (11) looks to take a shot on goal as Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) defends during the first period at KeyBank Center. (Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)
