Florida Panthers Look to Keep Momentum Going Against Winnipeg Jets
“We know we are at our best when we play against teams like that,” Barkov said. “When we know when it’s going to be a tight game, every inch matters, and that’s where we want to play.”
The Florida Panthers are looking to repeat their effort from Saturday night against the league-leading Winnipeg Jets when they head into enemy territory on Tuesday night.
After defeating Winnipeg, 5-0, two days ago to snap a two-game losing skid, the Panthers will be looking to hand the Jets just their second home loss and their first three-game losing skid of the season.
And they hope to continue to play the same style that helped them snap a rare skid of their own.
“I especially liked the way we played on the defensive side of the puck,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “We had a lot more urgency in our game and we played a lot harder than we did the couple of games before, so it was a big step for us in the right direction.”
The Panthers saw a seven-game winning streak turn into a two-game skid when the New Jersey Devils and came to town routed them twice after costly mistakes in the defensive end piled up.
And 15-3-0 Winnipeg provided the wake-up call.
“We weren’t too happy with those games, and I think everyone was really pumped to get one back and play against a good team,” Gustav Forsling said. “I think everyone really bought into it.”
The Panthers are going to have a tough task, going into one of the most hostile environments in the league against a team with a lot to prove after Saturday’s embarrassing loss, but those are the environments the team thrives in.
“We know we are at our best when we play against teams like that,” Barkov said. “When we know when it’s going to be a tight game, every inch matters, and that’s where we want to play. We want to play tight games and we want to play as hard as possible when the other team is playing the same way, so it’s a really good test for us and we are always ready for those.”
THE NEWS
Sergei Bobrovsky will start in net on Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets.
Jesper Boqvist is good to go after taking a low, hard hit from Neal Pionk late in Saturday’s game against the Jets. Jonah Gadjovich will draw back into the lineup, replacing Mackie Samoskevich.
Today’s game will air at 8:00 p.m. EST and will be broadcasted on Scripps Sports and the Panthers Plus app. Out-of-market fans can stream the game on ESPN+.
For more information on how to catch Panthers games this season, visit nhl.com/panthers/info/how-to-watch.
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PANTHERS PROJECTED LINEUP
Evan Rodrigues — Aleksander Barkov — Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe — Sam Bennett — Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer — Tomas Nosek — Jonah Gadjovich
Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola — Dmitry Kulikov
Nate Schmidt — Uvis Balinskis
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
Scratched: Adam Boqvist, Mackie Samoskevich
WINNIPEG JETS PROJECTED LINEUP
Kyle Connor — Mark Scheifele — Gabriel Vilardi
Cole Perfetti — Vladislav Namestnikov — Nikolaj Ehlers
Nino Niederreiter — Adam Lowry — Mason Appleton
Morgan Barron — Rasmus Kupari — Alex Iafallo
Josh Morrissey — Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg — Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury — Colin Miller
Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
(Lines via DailyFaceoff.com)
*Opposing team lines subject to change.