Panthers Pregamer 3.21.21 at TBL

MARCH 21, 2021 at TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Amalie Arena | 4 P.M. ET
Television: Fox Sports Florida | ESPN+

Radio: 560 WQAM| 640 WMEN | 100.3 WCTH | 107.9/1370 WZTA | SIRIUSXM STREAMING CH. 932

PANTHERS vs. LIGHTNING

ALL-TIME vs. TBL: 68-47-10-16

ALL-TIME ROAD at TBL: 28-31-6-6

2020-21 vs. TBL: 2-1-0

2020-21 ROAD at TBL: 1-0-0

TEAM STATS

	FLORIDA (20-6-4)	TAMPA BAY (22-6-2)
GOALS FOR	101 (5^th)	109 (2^nd)
GOALS AGAINST	81 (22^nd)	69 (27^th)
POWER PLAY %	24.7 (11^th)	29.0 (2^nd)
PENALTY KILL %	81.1 (T-11^th)	84.5 (6^th)
SHOTS FOR PER-GAME	34.8 (2^nd)	30.8 (T-8^th)
SHOTS AGAINST PER-GAME	30.6 (14^th)	27.7 (26^th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %	52.6 (7^th)	51.6 (10^th)
FACEOFF WIN %	50.1 (17^th)	50.0 (18^th)

CATS STATS

The Panthers topped the Lightning 6-4 in their last matchup on Feb. 15 at Amalie Arena. The Cats have won two of their three meetings against TBL this season and five different Panthers have recorded at least three points in the season series: Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Eetu Luostarinen, Frank Vatrano and Carter Verhaeghe. Vatrano’s three points vs. TBL this season have all been goals. 10 different FLA players have tallied a goal against TBL this season.
In their last road game on March 11 at CBJ, the Cats reached their 10th road win of the season. FLA’s 10th win in their 13th road game of the season marked the fewest games the club has needed to reach 10 road wins (previously: 10-5-0, 1995-96). The Panthers .808 road win percentage leads the NHL.
Jonathan Huberdeau‘s 18 road points (5-13-18) leads the Cats away from South Florida, while Patric Hornqvist has scored a team-best six road goals. Huberdeau’s 34 points (11-23-34) over 34 career games vs. TBL are the most he has accumulated against any NHL club in his career.
The Panthers have not allowed a power-play goal against over their past four games (14-14), and have allowed just one PPG against in their past six games (19-20, 95.0%), ranking tied for second in the NHL over that span.
With a 2-0 win vs. NSH on March 20, Florida registered its 20th win of the season in its 30th game, marking the second-fewest games needed in franchise history to reach 20 wins in a single season (29 games, 1995-96). The Panthers own a 7-2-0 record over their last nine games and have won five of their past six games. Their seven wins from March 4 – March 20 are tied for second in the NHL over that span.
Over those nine games seven different Panthers have scored at least three goals: Noel Acciari, Aleksander Barkov (5), Aaron Ekblad (4), Jonathan Huberdeau, Owen Tippet, Frank Vatrano and Carter Verhaeghe (4). Barkov’s 13 points over the nine games leads the club.
FLA owns a 7-2-1 record through 10 games in the month of March. Over 10 games, Aleksander Barkov (5-9-14) and Jonathan Huberdeau (3-8-11) lead the Cats in points. Aaron Ekblad (4-5-9) and MacKenzie Weegar (1-8-9) lead Florida’s defense in points, while Weegar leads the club with a plus-nine rating. Over seven appearances in March, Sergei Bobrovsky owns a 6-1-0 mark.
Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov has recorded seven points (4-3-7) over his last four games. He has registered five shots in each of those games. Barkov enters tonight’s game with 16 points (6-10-16) over his last 12 games. Barkov is tied for first on FLA in points (35), even-strength points (23) and takeaways (23), while leading in shots (110), total ice time among forwards (633:38) and faceoff win percentage (53.6). With his goal on March 20 vs. NSH, Barkov tied Olli Jokinen (115) for the second-most even-strength goals in franchise history. His goal was the 30th game-winning goal of his career, joining Jokinen as one of only two Panthers to have registered 30 GWGs with Florida.
Jonathan Huberdeau has produced three points (1-2-3) over his past three games, and 11 points (3-8-11) over his past nine contests. Huberdeau is tied for the team lead in points (35), while leading the Cats in assists (24) and power-play points (15).
Aaron Ekblad has recorded four goals and nine points over his last nine games (4-5-9). Florida’s franchise leader in goals (81) and power-play goals (29) scored by a defenseman, Ekblad stands tied for second in the NHL this season for goals by defensemen (10) and first in power-play goals by Dmen (6).
Sergei Bobrovsky‘s personal six-game win streak (that spanned March 4-March 16) tied for the second-longest in franchise history behind only Roberto Luongo (9 wins, 2015-16). Over Bobrovsky’s last nine starts he owns a 7-1-1 record. Over that span among goalies with at least eight appearances, Bobrovsky’s .919 save percentage ranks eighth in the NHL.
MacKenzie Weegar enters tonight’s game on a career-high seven-game point streak (1-8-9) is tied for the longest point streak by a Panthers defenseman in franchise history, tied with Keith Yandle’s seven-game point streak (2-6-8, Oct. 24 – Nov. 11, 2018). His six-game assist streak and seven-game point streak are each tied for the longest by a Panther this season. Weegar’s 18 even-strength points (2-16-18) ranks second among NHL defensemen.
On March 20 vs. NSH, Patric Hornqvist appeared in his 800th NHL game, becoming the 32nd native of Sweden to play 800 NHL games. He has produced four points (2-2-4) over his past six outings. Hornqvist is tied for second on the Panthers in goals (11). The 34-year-old forward has notched 24 points (11-13-24) over 30 games in his first season with FLA. His six power play goals are tied for the most on FLA this season, while ranking second in shots on goal (102) and leading FLA forwards in hits (49). He is one goal shy from his 250th NHL goal.
Carter Verhaeghe has amassed six points (3-3-6) over his past six games. Verhaeghe owns a team-leading 11 even-strength goals, tied for eighthmost in the NHL. His +14 rating ranks first on Florida. Verhaeghe’s 23 points this season have all been recorded at even strength and is tied with Aleksander Barkov for most on the club
Anthony Duclair recorded a two-point game (1-1-2) on March 20 vs. NSH, his fifth multi-point effort of the season. The 25-year-old has produced four points (1-3-4) over his last four games.
Defenseman Radko Gudas leads FLA with 137 hits. Over his last 23 games, from Feb. 4 to March 20, Gudas logged an NHL-leading 115 hits. Gudas is one assist shy of his 100th NHL assist.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
– March 19: F Grigori Denisenko reassigned to Syracuse (AHL)
– March 13: F Anthony Duclair activated from IR, D Riley Stillman loaned to Taxi Squad

FLA-TBL CONNECTIONS

FLA forward Brett Connolly was selected by TBL in the first round (6th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. He played 134 games for TBL (2011-12 to 2014-15), recording 32 points (18-14-32).
FLA defenseman Radko Gudas was selected by TBL in the third round (66th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. He played 126 games for TBL (2012-13 to 2014-15), producing 32 pts (7-25-32).
FLA defenseman Anton Stralman played 355 games for TBL (2014-15 to 2018-19), amassing 130 points (29-101-130). Stralman went to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final with TBL, recording 10 points (1-9-10) over 26 games during the 2014-15 Stanley Cup playoffs.
FLA forward Carter Verhaeghe played 52 games for TBL (2019-20), notching 13 points (9-4-13). He won the 2020 Stanley Cup with TBL, producing two assists over eight postseason games.
FLA goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (2013-14 to 2016-17), FLA forward Alex Wennberg (2014-15 to 2016-17) and FLA defenseman Markus Nutivaara (2016-17) were teammates with TBL goaltender Curtis McElhinney on CBJ.
FLA defenseman Anton Stralman was teammates with TBL defenseman Ryan McDonagh on NYR from 2011-12 to 2013-14, including an appearance in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
FLA goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was teammates with TBL goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and TBL forward Nikita Kucherov on Team Russia at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
TBL Head Coach Jon Cooper served as Assistant Coach on Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey which included FLA defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
FLA defenseman Anton Stralman and TBL defenseman Victor Hedman were teammates on Team Sweden at the 2017 IIHF World Championships, earning Gold Medals.
FLA forward Anthony Duclair and TBL forward Brayden Point were teammates on Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships, earning Gold Medals.
FLA forward Carter Verhaeghe and TBL forward Gemel Smith share the hometown of Toronto, Ontario.
FLA forward Owen Tippett and TBL forward Mitchell Stephens are cousins and share the hometown of Peterborough, Ontario.
FLA forward Alex Wennberg and TBL defenseman Andreas Borgman share the hometown of Stockholm, Sweden.
FLA Senior Advisor to the General Manager Rick Dudley served as General Manager of TBL from 1999-00 to 2001-02.

CHASING FRANCHISE HISTORY

Franchise Goals	Franchise Assists	Franchise Points
1. Olli Jokinen (188)	1. Jonathan Huberdeau (313)	1. Jonathan Huberdeau (472)
2. Aleksander Barkov (168)	2. Aleksander Barkov (274)	2. Aleksander Barkov (442)
3. Jonathan Huberdeau (159)	3. Stephen Weiss (249)	3. Olli Jokinen (419)
4. Scott Mellanby (157)	4. Olli Jokinen (231)	4. Stephen Weiss (394)
5. Pavel Bure (152)	5. Robert Svehla (229)	5. Scott Mellanby (354)