Graphic design: Francisco Oporta & Todd Little

Fresh off a rough five-game road trip, the Florida Panthers (4-4) will open a three-game homestand stand when they host the surprising Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2) tonight at Amerant Bank Arena.

Carter Verhaeghe’s crazy goal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation allowed the Panthers to escape TD Garden with a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Mackie Samoskevich, A.J. Greer and Eetu Luostarinen also lit the lamp for the offensively-challenged Cats, who ended a four-game losing streak and finally claimed their first road win of the season. Brad Marchand collected two primary assists to earn First Star honors in his first game back in Boston since the trade. He has points in six of Florida’s eight games and leads the team in goals (3), assists (5) and points.

While the Panthers were beating Boston, the resurgent Penguins posted an impressive 5-1 decision on home ice over the Vancouver Canucks to extend their winning streak to three games. Connor Dewar, Tommy Novak, Sidney Crosby, Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau provided the goals, while Kris Letang became the 20th defenseman in NHL history to reach 600 career assists. Goaltender Arturs Silovs stopped 23 of 24 shots to earn the win against his former team.

WHEN: 7 p.m. ET

WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL

ON THE TUBE: Scripps, SN-PIT

ON THE DIAL: 104.3 WQAM (D/B), 106.3 ESPN West Palm (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)

SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #LetsGoPens, #PITvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook

ENEMY INTEL: PensBurgh

FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3

LAST MEETING: @FLA 4, PIT 3 (SO) (Recap) – 3/23/2025

NEXT MEETING: April 4, 2026

PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (4-2-0 .914 / 2.19 0SO) Pittsburgh: Jarry (2-1-0 .922 / 2.35 1SO)

PLAYER STATS: Florida / Pittsburgh

Thursday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)

Chicago (3-2-2 8P) at TAMPA BAY (1-3-2 4P) 7 p.m. (ESPN+/Hulu)

Anaheim (3-2-1 7P) at BOSTON (3-5-0 6P) 7 p.m.

Philadelphia (3-2-1 7P) at OTTAWA (2-4-1 5P) 7 p.m.

DETROIT (5-2-0 10P) at New York Islanders (3-3-0 6P) 7 p.m.

MONTREAL (6-2-0 12P) at Edmonton (3-3-1 7P) 9 p.m.

Idle: TOR (7P), BUF (6P)