Overview
- Florida sits last in the Eastern Conference with 25 points in 25 games, dropping three straight overall and four in a row at home.
- Matthew Tkachuk remains sidelined after offseason surgery but is expected to return this month, while reports conflict on Aleksander Barkov’s timeline, ranging from missing the regular season to a possible late-season return.
- The Panthers’ results swing with their scoring output, going 7-0-0 when netting four or more goals and 5-13-1 when limited to three or fewer.
- The injury list extends beyond the stars, with Dmitry Kulikov out long term and contributors such as Eetu Luostarinen and Tomas Nosek also unavailable.
- Goaltending is under scrutiny as Sergei Bobrovsky struggles, and analysts have suggested more looks for Daniil Tarasov, who has a .907 save percentage in eight appearances.