panthers notes
– The Panthers have lost four of their last six contests, most recently a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild after allowing the game-winning goal in the final five seconds of regulation on Thursday night. Matthew Tkachuk (1G, 1A) and Aaron Ekblad scored for the Panthers, and Daniil Tarasov saved 47 shots in the loss.
– Florida (73 points) is in last place in the Atlantic Division, but is not officially out of playoff contention yet.
– Tarasov will get the nod between the pipes on Saturday. He got the win with 20 saves in the December 7 matchup and is 1-0-0 with a 2.31 GAA and .917 SV% in two career games against the Islanders. Tarasov is 9-13-2 with a 3.01 GAA and .899 SV% in 25 games this season.
– Tkachuk has 17 points (7G, 10A) in his last 14 games, including three assists against the Islanders on March 1. The Panthers’ alternate captain has 25 points (10G, 15A) in 24 games this season.
– Seth Jones was recently activated from the long-term IR after missing 26 consecutive games, including a March 1 loss to the Islanders, with an upper-body injury. Jones scored a goal in the first meeting between Florida and New York on December 7 and has 25 points (6G, 19A) in 45 games this campaign.
– Sam Bennett (undisclosed), who scored two goals against the Isles in their last meeting, will not be fit on Saturday afternoon. He has nine points (5G, 4A) this month and is second on the team this year with 54 points (25G, 29A).
– Sam Reinhart (undisclosed, daily) has not played since March 12. Reinhart leads the Panthers in points (61), goals (29) and assists (32) this season. He is one goal away from recording his fifth consecutive 30-goal season.
– Brad Marchand (undisclosed, LTIR) has not been fit since March 6 and will not play on Saturday. Marchand signed a six-year extension with Florida last offseason and is second in scoring with 54 points (27G, 27A) heading into the 2025-26 season.
-Anton Lundell (upper body) will also be absent from Saturday’s contest. He last played and scored a goal on March 19 against the Edmonton Oilers. Lundell has scored 44 points (18g, 26a) this year.
– Ivan Rodriguez (upper body) broke his finger Thursday night against the Wild and is expected to be out several weeks. Rodriguez had points in each of his last two wins and was fifth on the team with 31 points (11G, 20A) this season.
– Alexander Barkov (lower body, LT-IR) has yet to participate in a game this season after tearing both his ACL and MCL in training camp.
– On March 6, the Panthers acquired Vinny Hinostroza from the Minnesota Wild for future considerations. Hinostroza has four points (2G, 2A) in seven games since the trade.
– Florida owns the eighth-best penalty kill (81.7%) in the NHL, but ranks 19th on the power-play this season at 19.5%.
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