It's finally opening night for the San Jose Sharks, as they'll host the Florida Panthers at the SAP Center tonight to kick off the 2026-27 season.

The Panthers started their season with a win, defeating the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime thanks to a goal from defenseman Gustav Forsling. Florida has a much better team than they showed last season, now that they have a healthy Aleksander Barkov and added the other Tkachuk brother into the mix. Goaltending is a bit of a rough spot though, with Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid being a downgrade from Sergei Bobrovsky. 

Panthers

B. Tkachuk - Barkov - Reinhart

Verhaeghe - Bennett - M. Tkachuk

Luostarinen - Lundell - Vilmanis 

Hathaway - Eller - Imama

Forsling - Ekblad

Mikkola - Jones

Kulikov - Gudas

Akira Schmid

Jacob Markstrom

Sharks

Marchment - Celebrini - Smith

Stenberg - Wennberg - Graf

Chernyshov - Misa - Toffoli

Goodrow - Ostapchuk - Sherwood

Nurse - Kesselring

Allan - Trouba

Orlov - Cagnoni

Yaroslav Askarov

Alex Nedeljkovic

Stay Healthy

The Florida Panthers are one of the most physical teams in the NHL and it's brought them a lot of success over the years. The additions of Brady Tkachuk and Radko Gudas only added more physicality as well. While in the past, teams reported the "Philly Flu" when playing against the Philadelphia Flyers, now it seems that things have shifted to the "Florida Fever."

The Panthers hit hard and often walk the line between clean and dirty hits, as showcased when Sebastian Aho took a high hit from Aaron Ekblad in the season opener:

Players often get banged up against the Panthers, which is likely part of the reason Ryan Warsofsky opted to play the more physical Nolan Allan rather than Sam Dickinson on opening night. Even though they're going to be chasing a win against one of the league's top teams, the Sharks mainly need to ensure that they all leave in one piece.

Give Askarov Some Help

Last season, there were quite a few occasions when the San Jose Sharks left Yaroslav Askarov out to dry. While he's made some drastic improvements over the offseason, he still can't do everything all by himself. The new look defense needs to limit odd-man rushes and breakaways. While many of them are proficient in the offensive zone, they can't ignore their responsibilities in their own end of the rink. 

Stay Disciplined

While they didn't show it in their first game of the season when they had seven power play opportunities and failed to convert, the Panthers have some strong offensive weapons that can make a team pay if given a man advantage. Florida played one of the NHL's elite defensive teams in their opener, and the Sharks' certainly aren't as strong defensively as the Hurricanes. As a result, the Sharks need to stay out of the penalty box in order to prevent giving up unnecessary goals. 

The game will be broadcast on NBC Sports California as usual for those in the Bay Area. Otherwise, out-of-market fans can tune in on ESPN+.

The Sharks face a tough test in their first game of the season. While it'll be tough to walk out of the SAP Center with a win tonight, if they're able to do so, it could help catapult them into the best start they've had in quite a few years.