DALLAS STARS NOTES:
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 4 – Reassigned D Lian Bichsel to Rögle BK (SHL)
INJURIES
Man-games lost, 2023-24: 11
NAME INJURY # OF GAMES DATES
C Roope Hintz Upper body 1 Oct. 12
C Radek Faksa Upper body 4 Nov. 1-6
C Matt Duchene Upper body 1 Nov. 6
D Thomas Harley Upper body 3 Nov. 14-20
C Craig Smith Illness 2 Nov. 22-24
TONIGHT’S GAME:
Dallas continues its tour of the Sunshine State with a matchup against the Florida Panthers tonight at Amerant Bank Arena. (6 p.m. CT, TNT, The Ticket 96.7-FM/1310-AM). This is the first of two meetings between the Stars and Panthers, and the lone matchup in South Florida. It’s a reunion of sorts for Stars forwards Evgenii Dadonov and Mason Marchment, who both spent time with Florida before joining Dallas. Dadonov was drafted by Florida in the third round (71st overall) in 2007 and went on to record 202 points (91-111—202) in 280 regular-season games. Marchment appeared in 87 regular-season contests for the Panthers, recording 57 points (20-37—57) before signing with Dallas as a free agent on July 13, 2022.
HOT WATER MUSIC
– The Stars went 2-0-0 vs. the Panthers last season, winning 6-4 on the road on Nov. 17, 2022 and 5-1 at home on Jan. 8. – Dallas is 23-17-10 all-time vs. Florida, including a 13-9-4 mark on the road. – Dallas has recorded points in eight of its previous 12 road games at Florida (6-4-2) and in 11 of the past 16 trips to Sunrise (8-5-3). – Overall, the Stars have points in six of their past seven games (4-1-2) and in seven of their past nine against the Panthers (4-2-3). – Captain Jamie Benn has eight points (3-5—8) in his past seven games against the Panthers. Benn leads active Stars in goals (16) and shares first in points (16-16—32) and third in assists (16) in 28 career games vs. Florida. NAME INJURY # OF GAMES DATES C Roope Hintz Upper body 1 Oct. 12 C Radek Faksa Upper body 4 Nov. 1-6 C Matt Duchene Upper body 1 Nov. 6 D Thomas Harley Upper body 3 Nov. 14-20 C Craig Smith Illness 2 Nov. 22-24 Dallas Stars: Media Notes – Forward Joe Pavelski has six points (2-4—6) in his past seven games overall against Florida. He shares third in assists (16) and points (9-15—25) in a team-high 29 games against the Panthers. – Forward Matt Duchene ranks second among active Stars in goals (13) and shares third in points (13-12—25) in 28 games vs. Florida. He also shares first in power-play goals (3) and game winners (2). – Forward Tyler Seguin has points (7-7—14) in seven of his past nine games vs. Florida. Seguin, who has amassed 23 points (9-14— 23) over his past 14 games vs. Florida dating to the 2015-16 season, leads current Stars in assists (22) and shares first in points (10- 22—32) in 28 career games against the Panthers. – Forward Roope Hintz has been held off the scoresheet just three times in 11 career games against the Panthers (3-7—10). – Forward Jason Robertson enters tonight’s game with eight goals and 11 points (8-3—11) in his past eight games against the Panthers and has 12 points (8-4—12) in 12 career games against them. – Forward Mason Marchment spent two seasons with the Panthers (2020-22), registering 20 goals and 57 points (20-37—57) in 87 regular-season games. He added three goals (3-0—3) in 10 postseason contests with them. – Forward Evgenii Dadonov was drafted by Florida in the third round (71st overall) in 2007 and went on to record 202 points (91-111— 202) in 280 regular-season games. – Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 1-3-1 with a 3.10 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in six career appearances vs. Florida. – Netminder Scott Wedgewood is 1-1-0 with a 3.30 GAA and .891 SV% in two appearances against the Panthers
FLOIRDA PANTHERS NOTES:
BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT
– D Josh Mahura | Games Missed: 8
Total Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 61 Games
LAST GAME Panthers 3, Islanders 4 – Dec. 2 – Amerant Bank Arena
FLA Goals: Reinhart (16), Tkachuk (4), Verhaeghe (11) NYI Goals: Lee (5-PPG), Engvall (3), Holmstrom (7), Gauthier (1)
FLA Goalie: Stolarz (L) – 23 Saves NYI Goalie: Sorokin (W) – 42 Saves
FLA Shots: 45 NYI Shots: 27
Notes: Sam Reinhart (1-0-1) scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season… Carter Verhaeghe extended his point streak to two games and scored two points (1-1-2)… Defensemen Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour each posted an assist…Sam Bennett went 11-for-17 in the faceoff circle (65%)…FLA PP: 0-2, FLA PK: 1-2
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
– Dec. 3: D Uvis Balinskis recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
PANTHERS vs. STARS
ALL-TIME vs. DAL: 24-21-3-2
ALL-TIME HOME vs. DAL: 12-12-1-1
2022-23 vs. DAL: 0-2-0
CATS STATS
– Aleksander Barkov has amassed 19 points (12-7-19) over 19 games against the Stars. – Carter Verhaeghe has collected nine points (6-3-9) in ten games against Dallas. – Sergei Bobrovsky has a career record of 16-2-2 vs. Dallas.
CATS AND STARS
The Panthers face off against Dallas for the first of two meetings between the clubs in 2023-24. Last season, Dallas swept the season series (2-0-0). Carter Verhaeghe scored a goal in each contest and posted three points (2-1-3) against Dallas in 2022-23. Eetu Luostarinen, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk each scored a goal against the Stars. Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment appeared in 87 games for the Panthers (2020-21 to 2021-22) amassing 57 points (20-37-57), and tied a franchise record single game point outing (2-4-6) on Jan. 31, 2022 at CBJ. Stars forward Evgenii Dadanov was drafted in the 3rd round (71st overall) by Florida in the 2007 NHL Draft. He spent six seasons with the Panthers (2009-10 to 2011-12 and 2017-18 to 2019-20).
NOVEMBER NOTABLES
The Panthers faced their busiest month of the season in November, skating in 15 games across 30 calendar days. Despite this challenge, Florida posted a 10-4-1 record in November, leading all teams in wins (10) and points (21) while posting the third-fewest goals against per game (2.27). They also posted a 6-2-1 road record, tied for the league lead in road wins with DAL and matching the club record for road victories in a calendar month (also April 2022, March 2022, March 2021, December 2015). Other notables: • The Panthers posted a 90.4 penalty kill success rate in November, surrendering just five power-play goals against in the month (47 for 52), the third-best rate among teams. • Florida’s 19 third-period goals in November tied for fourth-most, and while they surrendered just eight third-period goals against in the month, behind only LAK (7). • The Cats led all teams in 4v4 goals (3), while allowing just 22 5v5 goals against across 15 November contests, the fewest among teams with at least 15GP over that span. • Florida averaged 32.7 shots on goal per game, the fifth best among teams. • Oliver Ekman-Larsson tied for the league lead in goals by a defenseman (5), behind only Quinn Hughes (5) for even-strength goals by a blueliner (OEL: 4). • Sergei Bobrovsky led all goaltenders with eight wins (8-3-0) and two shutouts (tied), posting a .918 SV% and 2.11 GAA. • Matthew Tkachuk ranked third among all NHLers with 59 shots on goal.
A VIEW TO A (PENALTY) KILL
Florida Panthers: Media Notes In addition to posting the third-best PK% in November, the Panthers have successfully killed off their past 27 of their past 28 penalties. The Cats did not allow a PPG for six straight contests from Nov. 20 vs. Edmonton to Nov. 30 at Montreal. Florida has allowed just four power-play goals against over their past 13 contests (40 for 44, 90.9%) since Nov. 8.
PACING PLAY
The Panthers have averaged 34.1 shots on goal per game which ranks behind only CAR (34.6) following games played Dec. 4. The Cats also average 27.6 shots against per game, the third-best mark behind CAR (24.6) and LAK (26.8) this season.
