CALGARY \u2013 The Florida Panthers will close the book on their four-game road trip with a clash against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday.<\/p>\n
On the first half of their back-to-back in Alberta, the Panthers looked dominant in a 4-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Despite being hampered injuries all season and sitting outside of the playoff picture at 34-31-3, the Panthers reminded the NHL they\u2019re still the back-to-back champs.<\/p>\n
Cole Reinhardt, A.J. Greer, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe all scored for the Panthers, who also went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill against Edmonton\u2019s top-ranked power play.<\/p>\n
Helping limit Art Ross Trophy front-runner Connor McDavid and the Oilers to just 21 shots on goal, Florida\u2019s defensive group of Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, Seth Jones, Niko Mikkola and Dmitry Kulikov all shared the blue line in a game for the first time since Oct. 9<\/p>\n
“I’m so happy for them,\u201d head coach Paul Maurice said. \u201cIt’s been a grind. It’s been so hard. That’s the best defensive corps that we’ve put on the ice since two minutes in Game 2 of the season. You see what those five guys (defensemen) can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
New to the team\u2019s defensive corps and playing in front of his friends and family in his hometown of Edmonton, Mike Benning, suiting up in just his fourth NHL game, dished out two primary assists and was named the first star of the game for the Panthers.<\/p>\n
In four games, Florida has led 67-45 in 5-on-5 shot attempts when Benning is on the ice.<\/p>\n
“Mike Benning played just a fantastic game,\u201d Maurice said.<\/p>\n
Continuing to climb the league\u2019s all-time leaderboard, Sergei Bobrovsky stood on his head against the Oilers, stopping all 21 shots he faced to record the 454th win of his NHL career.<\/p>\n
As it stands now, he\u2019s tied with Curtis Joseph for the seventh-most wins in NHL history.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a great achievement,\u201d Bobrovsky said. \u201cYou look at the goalies on the list, and I couldn\u2019t dream about to be in the same category with them. I still don’t believe.”<\/p>\n
With no morning skate, tonight\u2019s lineup remains up in the air.<\/p>\n
Stay tuned for updates following Maurice\u2019s pregame media availability.<\/p>\n
But with Bobrovsky manning the crease in Edmonton, it\u2019s likely that Daniil Tarasov finishes off the back-to-back against the Flames. In 23 appearances this season, Tarasov has posted a 9-11-2 record with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage.<\/p>\n
Seventh in the Pacific Division with a record of 27-34-7, the Flames have lost eight of their last 11 games, but enter tonight\u2019s tilt on the heels of a 2-1 shootout win over the Blues on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Connor Zary scored Calgary\u2019s lone goal in regulation, while Devin Cooley stopped 25 of 26 shots to earn first-star honors against St. Louis. In the shootout, Joel Farabee and Matvei Gridin scored for the Flames, while Cooley turned aside the only two shots he faced.<\/p>\n
In the midst of a rebuild, three of Calgary\u2019s current top-eight scorers won\u2019t take the ice against the Panthers. The team\u2019s top-scoring forward Nazem Kadri (41 points) and top-scoring defenseman Rasmus Andersson (30 points) have both been traded away.<\/p>\n
As for former Panthers, Jonathan Huberdeau (25 points) is done for the season due to a hip injury, while Mackenize Weegar (21 points) was dealt to the Utah Mammoth.<\/p>\n
Ryan Lomberg, still a fan-favorite in Florida and member of the team\u2019s run to the Stanley Cup in 2024, remains with the Flames and has nine points (4G, 5A) in 56 games.<\/p>\n
Cooley and Dustin Wolf have both seen time in Calgary\u2019s net this season. Wolf has gone 19-25-3 with a .897 save percentage, while Cooley, despite seeing nearly half the number of starts, has gone 8-9-4 with a .915 save percentage.<\/p>\n
At the time of this writing, the Flames have yet to announce a starter.<\/p>\n
Meeting for the second and final time this season, the Flames earned a 5-3 win over the Panthers in their previous meeting back on Nov. 28 at Amerant Bank Arena.<\/p>\n
THEY SAID IT<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were great. We were on the same page. The guys had great sticks, great reads. Again, it\u2019s a fun game to play.\u201d \u2013 Sergei Bobrovsky on Florida\u2019s penalty killers in Edmonton<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not so much about the points, but rather playing good hockey, being confident and gaining trust with the players and coaches. I\u2019ll keep on going through that.\u201d\u00a0\u2013 Mike Benning on his first taste of the NHL<\/p>\n
FIVE CATS STATS<\/p>\n
– Carter Verhaeghe has recorded five straight 20-goal seasons.<\/p>\n
– Matthew Tkachuk has tallied three points (2G, 1A) over his last two games.<\/p>\n
– Anton Lundell is one goal away from reaching a new career-high mark of 19.<\/p>\n
– Sam Bennett\u2019s 53 points this season are a new career-high.<\/p>\n
– Paul Maurice is two games away from his 2,000th behind the bench in the NHL.<\/p>\n
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)<\/p>\n
Forwards<\/p>\n
Eetu Luostarinen \u2013 Evan Rodrigues \u2013 Jesper Boqvist<\/p>\n
Carter\u00a0Verhaeghe \u2013 Sam Bennett \u2013 Matthew Tkachuk<\/p>\n
Cole Reinhardt \u2013 Tomas Nosek \u2013 A.J. Greer<\/p>\n
Nolan Foote \u2013 Luke Kunin \u2013 Vinnie Hinostroza<\/p>\n
Defensemen<\/p>\n
Dmitry Kulikov \u2013 Aaron Ekblad<\/p>\n
Niko Mikkola \u2013 Seth Jones<\/p>\n
Donovan Sebrango \u2013 Mike Benning<\/p>\n
Goaltenders<\/p>\n
Daniil Tarasov<\/p>\n
Sergei Bobrovsky<\/p>\n
RECENT TRANSACTIONS<\/p>\n
– March 15: F Nolan Foote recalled from Charlotte (AHL)<\/p>\n
– March 12: D Mike Benning recalled from Charlotte (AHL)<\/p>\n
– March 7: F Sandis Vilmanis and D Tobias Bjornfot loaned to Charlotte (AHL)<\/p>\n
HOW TO WATCH\/LISTEN<\/p>\n
When:\u00a0Friday, March 20 at 9 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
Where:\u00a0Scotiabank Saddledome \u2013 Calgary, AB<\/p>\n
TV & Streaming:\u202fWSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV<\/p>\n
Radio:\u00a0560 WQAM (Dade\/Broward); 106.3 WESP-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931<\/p>\n