Monday, December 23, 2024
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NHL Preview: Florida Panthers (26-2-6) at Minnesota Wild (28-20-4)

FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:

BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT

  • F Anthony Duclair | Games Missed: 55
  • F Patric Hornqvist | Games Missed: 30
    Total Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 169

LAST GAME
Panthers 3, Avalanche 5 – Feb. 11 – FLA Live Arena
FLA Goals: Ekblad (9), Bennett (14), Barkov (15)
COL Goals: O’Connor (6-SHG), Nieto (10), Toews (4), MacKinnon (15-PPG, 16)
FLA Goalie: Bobrovsky (L) – 45 Saves
COL Goalie: Georgiev (W) – 42 Saves
FLA Shots: 45
COL Shots: 50
Notes: Sam Reinhart (0-2-2) notched two assists for his second consecutive multi-point game (2-2-4)…Matthew Tkachuk posted two assists…Eric Staal logged an assist to extend his point streak to three games (3-1-4)…Anton Lundell recorded an assist for the second straight game…Sergei Bobrovsky’s 45 saves were the most by a Panthers goaltender in a game this season…FLA PP: 0-4, FLA PK: 2-3

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

  • Feb. 12: F Grigori Denisenko recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
  • Feb. 10: D Josh Mahura agreed to terms on one-year contract extension through 2023-24
  • Feb. 6: G Alex Lyon loaned to Charlotte (AHL)

PANTHERS vs. WILD
ALL-TIME vs. MIN: 11-16-1-2
ALL-TIME ROAD vs. MIN: 3-9-1-1
2022-23 vs. MIN: 1-0-0

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Florida hits the road again tonight for the first of a four-game road swing. Following games played Feb. 11, the Panthers 29 road games played were second only to Arizona’s 32. The Cats have won each of their past two road outings and have earned at least a point in four of their past five games away from FLA Live Arena (3-1-1). Their 90 road goals ranked eighth-most among NHL teams, and their 34.4 road shots on goal per game ranked second behind Calgary (35.6). Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida with 33 road points (13-20-33), tied for sixth-most among League skaters.

CATS AND WILD
The Panthers face off against the Wild for the second and final time this season following Florida’s 5-3 win over Minnesota at FLA Live Arena on Jan. 21. In that game, 11 different Panthers skaters produced at least one point and goaltender (and Minnesota native) Alex Lyon secured his first win of the season. The Cats have won each of their past four matchups against the Wild dating to Jan. 20, 2020, and own a 5-1-0 record over their prior six meetings. Aleksander Barkov has amassed 17 points (4-13-17) over 16 career games against Minnesota.

LEADING THE WAY
Since Jan. 3, 2022, Matthew Tkachuk leads all NHL skaters with 20 assists and 30 points (10-20-30) over 16 games, logging at least one point in 15 of the 17 contests, including two separate seven-game point streaks. His 19 even-strength points from Jan. 3-Feb. 11 also led all skaters. Over that span, Sergei Bobrovsky owns a 6-2-1 record and .924 save percentage.

POWER UP
Since the turn of the calendar, the Panthers lead the league with a 33.3% power-play success rate (18/54). The Cats have scored at least one power-play goal in seven of their past 10 games. Florida’s 18 power-play goals from Jan. 1-Feb. 11 were three more than the next-best team (OTT, 15).

PK PROWESS
The Panthers have allowed just one power-play goal against over their past five games, killing of 13 of 14 penalties against since Jan. 27. Florida has scored five shorthanded goals this season: Anton Lundell (2), Eric Staal (2), Aleksander Barkov.

MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:

SERIES NOTES

FLORIDA PANTHERS
All-Time Wild Record: 18-9-3 (10-2-2 at Xcel Energy Center, 8-7-1 at Florida)
2022-23: The Wild lost the first meeting, 5-3, at FLA Live Arena (1/21)…LW Kirill Kaprizov led the Wild with three points (0-3=3)…C Joel Eriksson Ek (1-1=2) and LW Matt Boldy (1-1=2) each tallied multi-point games…G Filip Gustavsson stopped 22 of 26 shots faced for Minnesota…C Anton Lundell (1-1=2) and C Sam Reinhart (1-1=2) led the Panthers with two points each…D Gustav Forsling (1-0=1), C Eetu Luostarinen (1-0=1) and C Carter Verhaeghe (1-0=1) all added goals…G Alex Lyon stopped 29 of 32 shots faced for Florida.

WILD LEADERS: RW Mats Zuccarello leads Minnesota with 27 points (14-13=27) in 26 matches against Florida…D Jared Spurgeon has 12 points (2-10=12) in 18 contests…LW Marcus Foligno owns 11 points (5-6=11) in 26 games…D Jonas Brodin owns nine points (2-7=9) in 15 games …D
Alex Goligoski has nine points (1-8=9) in 24 games.

WILD GOALIES: G Marc-Andre Fleury is 18-10-2 with a 2.30 GAA, a .922 SV% and two shutouts in 31 career games (29 starts) vs. the Panthers…
Gustavsson is 0-2-0 with a 4.04 GAA and a .857 SV% in two starts against Florida.

PANTHERS LEADERS: C Aleksander Barkov leads Florida with 17 points (4-13=17) in 16 matches against Minnesota…RW Patric Hornqvist owns 15 points (7-8=15) in 30 contests…C Nick Cousins owns nine points (3-6=9) in 15 matches…RW Matthew Tkachuk has nine points (4-5=9) in 16 games.

PANTHERS GOALIES: Bobrovsky is 12-3-1 with a 2.10 GAA, a .929 SV% and one shutout in 16 career starts vs. the Wild…G Spencer Knight has not faced Minnesota…G Alex Lyon is 1-0-0 with a 3.00 GAA and a .906 SV% in one game (one start) against the Wild.

FAST FACTS: Minnesota went 10-0-1 against Florida from Nov. 29, 2001- Dec. 13, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center – its second-longest home point streak against a team in franchise history…The Wild’s 18 career wins against the Panthers are its fourth-most wins against an Eastern Conference opponents

HOME SWEET HOME
• Dating back to Nov. 19th, Minnesota is 14-4-0 at home for a .778 point percentage, the third-best rate in the NHL during that span.

• The Wild recorded an seven-game home win streak from Nov. 27 – Dec. 18, the fourth-longest home win streak in the NHL this season.

• Minnesota is tied for sixth in the NHL with 16 home victories this season and ranks tied for eighth with a .635 point percentage at home.

• In home games since Nov. 19, the Wild is recording a 2.28 goals against average (GAA) and .918 save percentage (SV%). Since Nov. 19, Minnesota ranks second in the NHL in home GAA and fifth in home SV%.

ON THE POWER PLAY
• The Wild have converted 30.8 percent (24 of 78) of power-play opportunities at home this season, third-best in the NHL.

• Minnesota recorded a power-play goal in a season-high six consecutive games from Nov. 23 – Dec. 4, going eight-for-19 (42.1 pct.) during that span. The streak tied for the fifth-longest in franchise history.

PENALTY KILLERS
• Since Nov. 8, Minnesota is ninth in the NHL with a 81.9 penalty-kill percentage (113 for 138).

• Minnesota is fifth in the NHL with a 82.1 penalty-kill percentage (78 of 95) on the road this season.

SHORT (HANDED) KINGS
• Minnesota is fourth in the NHL with eight shorthanded goals this season.

• The total is tied for the highest in franchise history through a season’s first 52 games (eight SHG in 2001-02 and 2006-07 seasons).

• Minnesota has not eclipsed eight shorthanded goals in season since recording nine during the 2008-09 campaign.

NO FREE HANDOUTS
• Minnesota is averaging 6.1 giveaways per game (316 in 52 games) this season, tied for the lowest rate in the NHL.

• The average is tied for the NHL’s fourth-lowest total through 52 games in the last five seasons.

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