Florida Panthers Change Start Time of Game for Miami Hurricanes

SUNRISE — Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk said he became a fan of college football thanks to Ole Miss, but when the Rebels played Miami in the Fiesta Bowl last week, he was rooting for his Hurricanes.

With the Hurricanes beating Mississippi, they advanced to the college football national championship game on Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium.

Yes, that Hard Rock Stadium.

Tkachuk should be in the Panthers lineup by then — and may be on the ice when the Hurricanes kick off in the national title game.

But not much longer.

The Panthers play host to the San Jose Sharks that Monday night but have officially moved the start time to 6 p.m.

The Hurricanes play No. 1 Indiana with a 7:30 scheduled start time.

Tkachuk advocated for an earlier start time the week before Miami beat Ole Miss.

“I think it would be pretty sick if they’re in the finals here,’’ said Tkachuk, who was the first NHL player to ever be the celebrity picker on ESPN’s College GameDay when it came to Coral Gables before the Miami/Florida game earlier this season.

“Some guys are trying to get our game pushed up a little bit so we can be able to watch it. They should be able to do that. … I think they’re trying to make South Florida Title Town, so it would be pretty cool if they could do it.’’

Tkachuk has been a vocal supporter of the Hurricanes since coming to the Panthers in 2022.

He and a number of his teammates tailgated and attended the Gators game in September, and Tkachuk has been spotted wearing various Miami shirts throughout the season.

On his podcast Wingmen with his younger brother Brady, Matthew Tkachuk said he wanted to try and bring Division I hockey to the University of Miami.

“It’s going to be tough, you can’t look past Ole Miss,” Tkachuk said when asked about the upcoming Fiesta Bowl, one which will be played in Glendale, Ariz., while the Panthers are in Montreal on Thursday night.

“Ole Miss is where I fell in love with college football so I’m kind of torn right now. But I have the personal relationships with some of the guys with Miami now, so I’m leaning towards them. But you can’t look past this one.”

Moving up a start time of a regular season hockey game in response to another big local sporting event has plenty of precedence around the league.

Earlier this season, for instance, the Toronto Maple Leafs moved up the start time of some games due to the Blue Jays being in the World Series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have also moved up game times to accommodate Steelers games played that same day.

With Jan. 19 being Martin Luther King Jr. Day, schools and some businesses will be closed.

So, the Panthers moving up their game time against the Sharks may actually help attendance rather than if it remained at 7 with a good number of fans expected to choose to either watch the national championship game on TV or attend it in nearby Miami Gardens.

As far as the Sharks go, they will be in town early after playing in Detroit that Friday night.

The Panthers will also will be home from their road trip by Sunday.

ON DECK: GAME No. 45

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 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Local Betting Odds — Sabres Favored:MoneyLine (-120); Puck Line -1.5 (+180); O/U 6.5 (+105/-130)
• Last Season: Panthers Won 3-1
• This Season (Sabres Lead 1-0) — At Buffalo: Sabres 3, Panthers 0 (Oct. 13); Monday. At Florida: Feb 2; Feb. 27.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 60-47-8, 4 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Friday at Carolina Hurricanes, 7