FHN Today: Blues Tonight, Florida Panthers Gone Tomorrow

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers will play their final game at FLA Live Arena for a while tonight when the St. Louis Blues come to town.

The game tonight will mark Florida’s seventh game on home ice in its past eight contests. On Sunday afternoon, they’ll fly to chilly Alberta for a back-to-back against Edmonton and Calgary.

All told, the Panthers will be gone for 11 days, returning from Winnipeg on Dec. 7 for a game the following night against visiting Detroit.

It is a five-game trip — with two against the Oilers and Flames right off the hop — spanning the four western Canada teams with a stop in Seattle.

The Panthers sure would love to get two points before that long flight to Edmonton.

“We have been home for a while and it is important to finish strong,” Sam Reinhart said. “To get some momentum going into the road trip would be nice.”

The Panthers will try to finish this run of home games with a second consecutive win after beating the Bruins on Wednesday night. Florida went 2-2-1 on the five-game homestand which preceded it.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

So, the Panthers have (roughly) played their first quarter of the season.

They have been a mixed bag so far.

While new coach Paul Maurice does not think his team has played its best, the Panthers do feel their record should be better than 10-8-2.

What has gone right and what has gone wrong so far?

— We opened up the FHN Florida Panthers Mailbag on Friday and answered all of the questions you all came up with — from the status of Anthony Duclair to why the Panthers decided to move on from Andrew Brunette.

Check it out HERE.

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— Speaking of the Bruins, the Panthers certainly needed a lift on Wednesday night — and Spencer Knight gave it to them.

The 21-year-old was terrific in a 37-save win and he will get the start tonight against the Blues.

— Sam Reinhart started scoring goals once he was reunited with Anton Lundell and on Wednesday, Lundell got his first in 13 games.

The Panthers would love to see both of those guys scoring at the same time.

— We will have more postgame video following tonight’s game on the FHN YouTube Channel.

Until then, check out Wednesday night’s reactions from Maurice, Aaron Ekblad, Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.

Check them out RIGHT HERE or just click on the videos below and enjoy them at your leisure.

NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

Remember how the Panthers tied a longstanding NHL record by winning their first 11 home games last season?

The Boston Bruins took that record for themselves on Friday, beating Carolina to start 12-0 at the Garden.

— The New York Islanders showed some resolve in rallying to beat the Blue Jackets on Friday night, or at least that is how Colby wrote it up for NYI Hockey Now.

— The Philadelphia Flyers are going through some things as they lost their ninth straight, this one to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

— Speaking of the Penguins, how can they get better?

— Are the Washington Capitals turning a corner?

— The Kraken catch another one, this time it is the Vegas Golden Knights.

— Filip Hronek is having a fantastic start to the season for the Detroit Red Wings.

PANTHERS ON DECK

ST. LOUIS BLUES AT FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Saturday, 6:30 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: Split 1-1
  
• All-time regular season series: St. Louis leads 24-12-1, 3 ties