Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers In a New York State of Mind
When the Florida Panthers hop on their plane headed for Finland, they may all be rocking those iconic ‘I ❤️ NY’ t-shirts.
Florida’s victories over the Rangers and Islanders were not pretty, but they showed the grit that has been the trademark of a team missing captain Sasha Barkov.
They hung tough against the Rangers after gaining an early 2-0 lead — and holding them without a shot during a late 6-on-4 was a major accomplishment.
Against the Islanders, they roared back from a 3-0 deficit.
When people think about “the three New York teams,” the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils come to mind.
Of course, it’s a trick question: The Buffalo Sabres are New York’s third team.
Only two weeks ago, the Panthers last visited the city alongside Lake Erie and had one of its poorest performances of the young season.
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Buffalo had lost its first three games of the season, scoring three goals.
The Sabres feasted on the Panthers.
To refresh everyone’s memory, that was the game in which Buffalo rattled off four straight goals en route to a 5-2 victory.
That game was Florida’s first without Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, who has since returned and scored twice in the win over the Islanders.
Barkov has missed the past eight games, during which the Panthers went 5-2-1.
Tkachuk missed five of those eight games.
Barkov could be back tonight. Stay tuned.
The Sabres are not pushovers despite not making the playoffs for 13 straight seasons.
They are slowly and methodically rebuilding.
Two seasons ago, they narrowly missed the playoffs with 91 points.
Last season, they regressed slightly with 84 points.
There is hope with Lindy Ruff back behind the bench for his second tour as Sabres coach.
Ruff was the Sabres coach in 1998-99 when they were defeated in the Stanley Cup Final on a controversial goal by Brett Hull of the Dallas Stars.
Do not bring up that goal if you visit Buffalo.
Buffalo has solid goaltending with emerging star Ukko-Pecca Luukkonen and former Panthers’ draft pick Devon Levi.
Levi was traded to Buffalo while still a prospect in the deal, bringing Sam Reinhart to Florida.
The Sabres are on a three-game win streak. “UPL” was in goal for all three wins and will likely face Florida.
Arizona-born Tage Thompson leads the team in scoring with seven goals and 11 points in nine games.
He is riding a six-game point streak.
After Saturday’s win in Detroit, Ruff complimented his top line of Thompson, Alex Tuch, and J.J. Peterka.
“The way they’re playing, it’s such a comfort to put that line out there,” said Ruff, the former Panthers assistant coach during the expansion years.
“Offensively playing really good but defensively doing a really good job.”
About Thompson he said, “He’s a tough guy to defend because if you play the shot he can beat you with some one-on-one play. What complements it all is you’ve got Tuch on that other side. He’s a puck thief. He comes up with pucks, and they generate a lot of opportunities from being in the right place.”
According to NHL EDGE, the 6-6, 220-pound Thompson recorded a 104.69 mph slap shot in the Saturday game — fastest since they began recording these in 2021-22.
Buffalo ranks last in the NHL in power play, with only one goal in 26 attempts.
With all their offensive talent, they are due to break out.
Yet the Panthers penalty kill has been terrific and key to them winning their first two games in New York.
A third win in the Empire State would be a perfect sendoff and momentum builder for the long flight to Finland.
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
- 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
