FHN Today: Alex Lyon Gives Florida Panthers Lift in Montreal

The Florida Panthers were missing two of their biggest names on Thursday night as Sergei Bobrovsky and Eric Staal both left in the first period against the host Montreal Canadiens.

Bobrovsky left the game just 2:01 after sustaining a lower-body injury after making a save against the cage.

Staal was knocked out due to a big hit from former Florida defenseman Mike Matheson that could have been called for interference but was not.

He answered for it in a scrap with Matthew Tkachuk (2 goals) in the third.

Paul Maurice did not have a postgame update on either player saying they would both be looked at Friday.

Alex Lyon came on in relief of Bobrovsky and looked real solid in his first appearance with the Panthers since joining the organization during the summer.

Florida got four power play goals in the second period alone to tie a franchise record and 23 saves from Lyon in the 6-2 rout.

Guy needs a nickname, right?

Oh.

”Lyon King came in there and kind of steals the show for a little bit, denied them of some Grade-A chances,” Ryan Lomberg said. “He gave us the time to get the ball rolling. Good team win.”

The Panthers come home to play Minnesota on Saturday night and then, surprise, are back on the road again.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

Big win for the Panthers on Thursday night as they end up going 2-0-1 on the road trip and are 6-2-1 in their past nine.

It may end up being too late, but Florida is playing its best hockey of the season.

They’ll need to keep the pedal to the metal here before the All-Star break as they are now in the toughest part of their season.

Five games left before the break all against top teams — with two sets of back-to-backs thrown in for fun.

— Tkachuk, for the time being, will be the only member of the Panthers participating at the NHL All-Star Game as Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak and Andrei Vasilevskiy were added to Team Atlantic after some sort of fan vote.

— Maurice was going to go to the game but was fined $25,000 for his blasting of the officiating after Tuesday’s loss to the Leafs and now cannot afford it.

— Brandon Montour woulda, coulda, shoulda been the Panthers’ second participant at All-Star Weekend. Maybe next time it’s here.

— Speaking of the All-Star Game, the jerseys which were leaked online are now official.

And we continue to hear the alligators from Everglades Holiday Park will play some sort of role in the Skills Competition. But we told you about that weeks ago.

The question is: Do the frozen hamburger pucks come from Publix? How about frozen Pub Subs?

— So many of you have enjoyed it, we’re leaving Maurice’s full comments following Tuesday’s loss below as it remains on the FHN YouTube Channel.

We also have Thursday’s postgame from Maurice, Lomberg and Lyon.

Click RIGHT HERE to see everything all in one place and if you hit subscribe (it’s free), you will know when new content comes up.

NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

Do the Calgary Flames miss Matthew Tkachuk?

They certainly miss his spark — and all his goals. Again, two more on Thursday night.

— The Blackhawks pull off a nice one as they beat the Philadelphia Flyers for their first regular-season win in South Philly since 1996.

The Florida Panthers were sharing Miami Arena with the Heat and Hurricanes back then. Long time.

— The view from Quebec: The Montreal Canadiens lose ‘Fight Night’ against the Panthers.

— The Boston Bruins got a big win in the Big City as they beat the Rangers 3-1.

— This may just be the right time for the Detroit Red Wings to be in Vegas.

PANTHERS ON DECK

MINNESOTA WILD AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Last season: Florida won 2-0
• All-time regular season series: Minnesota leads 18-8-2, 1 tie
• Up Next for the Panthers: Monday at New York Rangers, 7 p.m.