{"id":435444,"date":"2026-10-23T01:02:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T01:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/435444\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T01:02:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T01:02:22","slug":"florida-panthers-goalie-cooper-black-makes-nhl-debut-history-tonight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/435444\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Panthers Goalie Cooper Black Makes NHL Debut, History Tonight"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT LAUDERDALE \u2014 Florida Panthers goalie Cooper Black<\/a> was not thinking about making his NHL debut when he was invited to development camp in Coral Springs three years ago. <\/p>\n

He was just trying to figure things out a bit. <\/p>\n

Panthers lines tonight: projected lineup and starting goalie \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI got a long ways to go,\u2019\u2019 he said then. \u201cI know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Black has certainly come a long ways.<\/p>\n

And, tonight in Pittsburgh, a dream comes true. <\/p>\n

With Jacob Markstrom<\/a> out for what could be the next couple of weeks<\/a>, Black will make his NHL debut tonight against the Penguins.<\/p>\n

Black, 25, is the first goalie to make his NHL debut with the Panthers since Spencer Knight<\/a> on April 20, 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201dYou just have to take it day-by-day,\u201d Black said before the Panthers left for their road trip on Tuesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look too far ahead, you\u2019re going to make it into something bigger than it actually is. At the end of the day, it\u2019s just another game. Not that I won\u2019t be nervous or excited when it does come. There\u2019s going to be tons of emotions if I get that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now officially listed at 6-foot-9 by the NHL, Black becomes the tallest goalie to start an NHL game in history.<\/p>\n

Black ties Zdeno Chara<\/a>,\u00a0Curtis Douglas\u00a0and\u00a0Matt Rempe<\/a>\u00a0as the tallest players in NHL history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a big lad,\u2019\u2019 Paul Maurice quipped.<\/p>\n

Black was a junior at Dartmouth when he first arrived in South Florida, eventually signing with the Panthers after his senior season after not being drafted. <\/p>\n

He says he had a number of offers, but felt comfortable with the Panthers. <\/p>\n

After signing, he went to the minors where he got his first game in with the AHL, giving up five goals on 19 shots for the Charlotte Checkers. <\/p>\n

Things would get better. <\/p>\n

His first pro year, Black split time with the Checkers and Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL.<\/p>\n

Last season, he stepped into the starting role in Charlotte once Brandon Bussi was snagged off waivers by the Hurricanes and took a huge leap forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe moves like an athlete,\u201d Maurice said. \u201cThere is some power to what he does. We\u2019re excited about it. I have seen him enough. He had a really strong exhibition game, looked completely comfortable. He\u2019s on that path. Now is the time for him to get one of these games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tonight, he really takes a big step in his professional career. <\/p>\n

\u201dAt the end of the day, it\u2019s an NHL game and that\u2019s what everyone strives for. It\u2019s what everyone dreams of as a little kid,\u2019\u2019 Black said. \u201cIt\u2019s still going to be awesome. I\u2019m still going to be nervous. But I have to take it day-by-day and not read too much into it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Choosing the Panthers back in 2024, he said, was the right move all along.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just felt the coaching staff could really help me improve my game,\u2019\u2019 Black said. \u201cI knew they had something special going on here. I cannot be any happier with where I ended up. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt, literally, was the perfect scenario for me. At the end of the day, I am happy I am here and that this is the team I chose to be with.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

ON DECK: GAME No. 11<\/p>\n

FLORIDA PANTHERS at PITTSBURGH PENGUINS<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tGeorge Richards is the publisher of Florida Hockey Now and has been the beat writer covering the NHL Florida … More about George Richards, FHN Publisher<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT LAUDERDALE \u2014 Florida Panthers goalie Cooper Black was not thinking about making his NHL debut when he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[170506,170482,28,30,29,16995,135914,170507,15952,170508],"class_list":["post-435444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-brandon-bussi","tag-cooper-black","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-florida-panthers","tag-jacob-markstrom","tag-matt-rempe","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-spencer-knight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}