Florida Panthers Head Out on Longest Road Trip of the Season

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers held their final practice in South Florida for some time Wednesday then headed to the airport bound for their longest road trip of the season.

The Panthers will kick off their tour tonight in New York against the Rangers, then visit the Islanders and Sabres.

On Monday night, not long after they wrap up their game in Buffalo, the team will fly to Helsinki, Finland, to take part in the two-game Global Series against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 1-2.

The flight to Helsinki is approximately nine hours long — with an 11-hour flight coming back.

“The good thing,’’ coach Paul Maurice quipped, “is that it’s only a couple hours longer than going to Edmonton.’’

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Aaron Ekblad said that he told Sasha Barkov that if the Panthers won the Stanley Cup, he would make the trip to Barkov’s hometown of Tampere, Finland — where the two games against Dallas will be played — with a smile on his face.

“He will get no complaints from me on this trip,’’ said Ekblad, who said he spent two hours packing for this marathon trip following Tuesday’s loss to the Minnesota Wild.

The highlight of this trip, obviously, is going to Finland — but the Panthers have three big games before flying across the Atlantic.

The biggest game of the three is tonight at Madison Square Garden in the rematch of the 2024 Eastern Conference finals between Florida and the Rangers.

New York comes in 5-0-1 and has outscored its opponents 31-12.

The Rangers’ plus-19 goal differential is the largest in the NHL.

Florida, meanwhile, is still atop the Atlantic standings at 4-3-1, but its minus-5 differential is only above last-place Montreal (-10) in the division and is ranked 13th in the Eastern Conference.

As much as the Rangers are looking forward to playing the Panthers, perhaps playing the Rangers at MSG can be good for Florida as well.

“Everyone knows it’s going to be a long one,” Maurice said. “I think it is going to be great for team building. I don’t think I have ever done (a trip to Finland) on a road trip, but I don’t mind that idea, either. We’ll have 20 percent of our road schedule over by Nov. 2, so, we’ll take it. … The three games we have liked the best (this season) have been against our playoff rivals. They’re on a roll, they’re healthy and have gotten off to a quick start. We’re going to get all we can handle.”

The Panthers continue to be without Barkov who will miss his seventh straight game tonight with a suspected ankle injury sustained Oct. 10 in Ottawa.

Barkov is skating, but has yet to practice with the team.

Maurice said Barkov could return for one of these three games in New York although it is increasingly looking like he will not be back until his home game in Tampere on Nov. 1 against Dallas.

“We want his on-ice sessions to be very controlled, don’t want someone bumping into him,” Maurice said. “He is getting better every day. We like the gaps and improvement. We’re most definitely on track.”

ON DECK: GAME NO. 9

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT NEW YORK RANGERS

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/Fort Lauderdale); WHDT 9 (West Palm); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/Fort Myers)
• 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
• Last Season vs. Rangers — Regular Season: Panthers won 2-1; Eastern Conference Finals: Panthers won 4-2. 
• This Season — At Florida: Dec 30; April 14. At MSG: Thursday.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Rangers lead 61-34-8, 6 ties
• Postseason History: Rangers won 4-1 (1997, 1st round); Panthers won 4-2 (2024 ECF)
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday at New York Islanders, 7:30 p.m.