Florida Panthers Close to Full Strength Tonight in Buffalo

For the first time since the second game of the season, the Florida Panthers are close to being at full strength tonight when they take on the Buffalo Sabres.

The Panthers got Matthew Tkachuk back after a five-game absence last week; tonight, captain Sasha Barkov returns.

Florida should have Jonah Gadjovich and Tomas Nosek back soon.

For the Panthers, who have won their past two, having Barkov back is an obvious boost.

Coach Paul Maurice knows his team needs to focus on the Sabres — who have won their past three games — and not look too far ahead.

The team will pack up immediately after the game and head to the airport for a nine-hour flight to Helsinki, Finland.

“We’re getting on a plane and going to Finland after this,’’ Maurice said. “There is an awful lot of excitement about that. But handling your day, living your day, and not getting too far ahead of yourself and finding the emotional energy to play a more consistent game of hockey is our challenge.’’

Florida, which lost in Buffalo 5-2 on Oct. 12, will look different tonight.

Not only will Barkov and Tkachuk be in the lineup against the Sabres, but Florida will go with Sergei Bobrovsky in net.

Buffalo will counter with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after Devon Levi got the win earlier this month.

The return of Barkov means an adjustment to the lines; Florida moves Sam Reinhart back with Barkov and Evan Rodrigues; Jesper Boqvist moves to the right side of Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen.

Florida’s fourth line will have Patrick Giles centering A.J. Greer and Mackie Samoskevich.

Maurice said that Adam Boqvist will be a healthy scratch tonight with Uvis Balinskis moving off the fourth line.

ON DECK: GAME 11

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT BUFFALO SABRES

• When: Monday, 7 p.m.
• Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WPTV 5/WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Betting Odds — Panthers Favored: Money Line (-150); Puck line (-1.5, +150); Over/Under 6 (-120/+100)
• Last Season: Panthers Won 3-0
• This Season (Sabres Lead 1-0) — At Buffalo: Sabres 5, Panthers 2 (Oct. 12); Monday. At Florida: March 8; April 12.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 57-46-8, 4 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Friday vs. Dallas Stars (at Tampere, Finland), 1 p.m. EDT

PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (6-3-1) LINES

17 Evan Rodrigues // 16 Sasha Barkov // 13 Sam Reinhart

23 Carter Verhaeghe// 9 Sam Bennett // 19 Matthew Tkachuk

13 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 70 Jesper Boqvist

10 AJ Greer // 36 Patrick Giles // 25 Mackie Samoskevich

42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad

77 Niko Mikkola // 7 Dmitry Kulikov

88 Nate Schmidt // 26 Uvis Balinskis

72 Sergei Bobrovsky

30 Spencer Knight

Scratched: Adam Boqvist

Injured: Jonah Gadjovich (back), Tomas Nosek (LTIR-UBI), Justin Sourdif (UBI)

PROJECTED BUFFALO SABRES (4-4-1) LINES

77 JJ Peterka // 72 Tage Thompson // 89 Alex Tuch

96 Nicolas Aube-Kubel // 24 Dylan Cozens // 22 Jack Quinn

17 Jason Zucker // 71 Ryan McLeod // 12 Jordan Greenway

29 Beck Malenstyn // 19 Peyton Krebs // 81 Sam Lafferty

26 Rasmus Dahlin // 10 Henri Jokiharju

4 Bowen Byram // 25 Owen Power

23 Mattias Samuelsson // 75 Connor Clifton

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

27 Devon Levi

Scratched: Jiri Kulich, Jacob Bryson, Dennis Gilbert

Injured: Zach Benson (lower body)

Buffalo Sabres Lines Courtesy NHL.com