Florida Panthers Wrap: The Cats Come Home

SUNRISE — Last week was a big one for the Florida Panthers as they finally came home and were welcomed to their spruced-up (and renamed) home with a sold out crowd.

The Panthers rewarded their fans with a rousing 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs as they survived a last minute 6-on-4 push — which was capped by an empty-net goal from Sam Reinhart.

Reinhart added two more goals in a 5-3 loss to Vancouver on Saturday night which put him in a three-way tie for the NHL lead.

Overall, the Panthers went 2-1 last week.

They kicked things off with a 4-3 win over the Devils in Newark as Sergei Bobrovsky was under siege in an intense third period only Florida headed south with their first win of the season.

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It was a busy week in Pantherland with Florida playing two more games in this homestand before flying north once again.

Speaking of this week, the Panthers play host to Anthony Duclair and the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

It looks like we’ll see Anthony Stolarz in net.

Here are the big stories from a big week:

— The individual goal songs are gone as the Panthers reached out to a popular EDM DJ for a new jam. It is getting mixed reviews, as these things always will. Visit the story to hear what it sounds like.

— The Panthers are struggling when killing penalties and all the new faces could be to blame. Regardless of the reason, Florida needs to figure this out. The Panthers have allowed eight power play goals in five games thus far.

— Oliver Ekman-Larsson did not have a great meeting with his former Vancouver mates as he met them for the first time since the Canucks made him the costliest buyout in NHL history.

— Paul Maurice said the Panthers cannot do anything in the playoffs by playing pretty. These guys are good at playing in the mud.

— Kevin Stenlund had a pretty good showing in the opener against Toronto as he not only scored a goal, but saved the game-tying one by blocking it with his face.

— Sasha Barkov’s air-5 at the end of the win in New Jersey went viral as he honored his past celebrations with pal Radko Gudas.

— When the Panthers had their first home opener in 1993 at Miami Arena, the game was a novelty to most. People around here know their hockey now.

— The Panthers ended up sending Mackie Samoskevich to Charlotte because they want him to play a lot more than he would here. Their plan for Samoskevich and Justin Sourdif is to make sure they are getting plenty of game action.

— Hey, Sourdif made his NHL debut against the Devils!

— The Panthers added a couple of players to their roster this week, signing the still-injured Jonah Gadjovich while bringing up Will Lockwood in the Samoskevich deal.

Florida also placed Sam Bennett on IR but he could be back this week.

— Plenty of new video on the FHN YouTube Channel including Saturday’s postgame from Maurice,  Reinhart and Josh Mahura.

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PANTHERS ON DECK

SAN JOSE SHARKS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Tuesday, 7:45 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5 FM-2; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932; NHL App
• Last season: Florida won 2-0
  
• This season: Tuesday @ Florida; @ San Jose, Nov. 14
• All-time regular season series: Florida leads 21-13-1, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Seattle, 6 p.m.