Panthers Pregamer 4.10.21 at DAL

APRIL 10, 2021 at DALLAS STARS

American Airlines Center | 2 P.M. ET
Television: Bally Sports Sun

Radio: 560 WQAM| 850 WFTL | 100.3 WCTH | 107.9/1370 WZTA | SIRIUSXM STREAMING 932

PANTHERS vs. STARS

ALL-TIME vs. DAL: 21-18-3-1

ALL-TIME ROAD vs. DAL: 11-7-2-0

2020-21 vs. DAL: 4-1-0

TEAM STATS

	FLORIDA (26-11-4)	DALLAS (14-14-10)
GOALS FOR	131 (7^th most)	104 (T-23^rd most)
GOALS AGAINST	109 (13^thfewest)	95 (T-5^th fewest)
POWER PLAY %	22.0 (13^th)	25.6 (3^rd)
PENALTY KILL %	80.0 (T-14^th)	78.4 (19^th)
SHOTS FOR PER-GAME	34.3 (2^ndmost)	29.7 (T-20^th most)
SHOTS AGAINST PER-GAME	30.8 (17^thfewest)	27.8 (4^th fewest)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %	51.9 (T-9^th)	52.1 (8^th)
FACEOFF WIN %	50.3 (14^th)	50.1 (17^th)

CATS STATS

Florida enters tonight’s matchup having defeated DAL in each of their past three matchups, including both games played at American Airlines Center. FLA owns a 4-1-0 record against the Stars this season. Carter Verhaeghe leads FLA with three goals (3-2-5) against the Stars in 2020-21, and is tied with Jonathan Huberdeau (2-3-5) for most points. Over 17 career games vs. DAL, Sergei Bobrovsky owns a 15-1-1 record, .940 save percentage and 1.86 goals against average.
This season against DAL, Bobrovsky owns a 2-0-0 record and a .932 SV%. Chris Driedger owns a 2-1-0 record and .952 SV% over three games vs. DAL.
Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov has produced five points (3-2-5) over his last four games since returning from injury. Since returning to the lineup for Florida on April 3 vs. CBJ, Barkov owns a 61.7 faceoff win percentage. The 25-year-old native of Tampere, Finland, is tied for first on FLA in points (42), game-winning goals (4) and leads the team in shots on goal (127), while ranking second in goals (16), even-strength goals (12) and even-strength points (29).
Jonathan Huberdeau has recorded six points (3-3-6) over his last eight games. He was the sixth NHL player this season to reach 40 points and only the second in the Central Division. Huberdeau is tied for the Panthers lead with 42 points, while ranking first on the club with 28 assists and 18 power-play points. His 18 power-play points rank tied for seventh in the NHL
Carter Verhaeghe enters tonight’s game with 11 points (5-6-11) over his last eight games. Over the eight-game span, Verhaeghe has registered four multi-point efforts. He produced a career-high four points on March 27 at DAL, scoring a hat trick consisting of an even-strength goal, power-play goal and shorthanded goal.
Verhaegheleads the Cats with 32 even-strength points and is only the seventh NHLer this season and second in the Central Division to post 30 points at even strength. He ranks seventh in the NHL for even-strength points, while tied for third in the NHL in even-strength goals (15). Verhaeghe’s +23 rating stands tied for second in the NHL and tied for first among all forwards.
MacKenzie Weegar enters tonight’s game with five points (1-4-5) over his past four games. The native of Ottawa, Ontario, ranks tied for first among NHL defensemen this season in even-strength points (23) and ranks second in takeaways (27). His +21 rating ranks second on FLA and tied for third among all NHL defensemen, while standing at third on FLA in blocked shots (51) and second in hits (95).
Frank Vatrano has produced five points (3-2-5) over his last five games. Vatrano’s 12 even-strength tallies ranks tied for second on FLA and stands at third on the club with 118 shots on goal. He has registered at least three shots on goal in each of his last five games. Tied for the team-lead in game-winning goals (4), Vatrano has tallied a team-best eight goals in the third period this season.
Gustav Forsling enters tonight’s game with four points (1-3-4) over his last six games. Over that span, Forsling owns a +8 rating, the second-highest on the club over the six-game stretch. Since March 30, Forsling has logged 126:56 TOI, the second-most on the Panthers while tied for the highest average SH-TOI (2:41). Forsling’s +9 rating on the season ranks second among FLA defensemen. His three goals are tied for his career-high in a season.
Patric Hornqvist has produced two assists over his last four games since returning from injury. He leads FLA with seven power play goals and ranks fourth on the Panthers with 27 points (12-15-27). The two-time Stanley Cup Champion ranks second on Florida in shots (125), while ranking second among FLA forwards in hits (67).
Chris Driedger has produced two shutouts over his past six games and has won three of his past four starts. Over his past six games (since March 20), he owns a 4-2-0 record, .952 save percentage and 1.34 goals against average. His .930 save percentage this season ranks tied for first among goaltenders that have played at least 18 games.
Radko Gudas leads all NHL defensemen in hits and ranks second in the league overall (187), averaging 4.68 hits per game and ranks tied for first on FLA with Noel Acciari in blocked shots (52). The native of Prague, Czech Republic, is one assist shy of his 100th NHL assist.
Matt Kiersted made his NHL debut on April 3 vs. CBJ, leading FLA with four blocked shots. He has averaged 16:16 TOI and tied for the club lead with eight blocked shots through his first four NHL games. He logged a career-high 21:03 TOI on April 6 at CAR. The 22-year-old appeared in 29 games in 2020-21 with the University of North Dakota, registering 22 points (3-19-22), the most among UND defensemen.
Florida’s 295 takeaways this season ranks third among NHL teams.
Florida is the first NHL team this season to have seven different players record 10 goals.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
– April 8: D Brady Keeper, G Spencer Knight recalled from FLA Taxi Squad | D Lucas Carlsson, F Lucas Wallmark acquired from CHI in exchange for F Brett Connolly, D Riley Stillman, RFA rights F Henrik Borgstrom, 2021 7th round pick
– April 5: F Mason Marchment re-signed to a 1-year contract extension, D Vladislav Kolyachonok reassigned from Minsk (KHL) to Syracuse (AHL)
– April 3: F Patric Hornqvist activated from IR, D Matt Kiersted recalled from FLA Taxi Squad, G Spencer Knight assigned to FLA Taxi Squad
– April 2: F Brad Morrison acquired from CHI in exchange for F Vinnie Hinostroza

– April 1: D Matt Kiersted signed to a 2-year ELC

FLA-DAL CONNECTIONS

FLA defenseman Kevin Connauton played 44 games for DAL (2013-14 to 2014-15), producing 10 points (1-9-10).
FLA goaltender Philippe Desrosiers was selected by DAL in the second round (54^th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.
DAL defenseman Mark Pysyk played 292 games (2016-17 to 2019-20) for FLA, registering 62 points (17-45-62).
FLA goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and DAL forward Blake Comeau were teammates on CBJ from 2012-13 to 2013-14.
FLA forwards Patric Hornqvist and Alex Wennberg were teammates with DAL defenseman John Klingberg on Team Sweden at the 2019 IIHF World Championship.
FLA goaltender Philippe Desrosiers and DAL forward Jason Dickinson were teammates on Team Canada at the 2013 IIHF U18 World Championship, earning Gold Medals.
FLA forward Patric Hornqvist and DAL forward Alexander Radulov were teammates on NSH (2011-12).
FLA forward Frank Vatrano and DAL defenseman Joel Hanley were teammates at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (2013-14).
FLA Amateur Scout Bill Ryan and DAL goaltender Ben Bishop were teammates at the University of Maine (2005-06 to 2007-08).
FLA forward Aleksander Barkov and DAL forward Roope Hintz share the hometown of Tampere, Finland.
FLA forward Carter Verhaeghe and DAL forward Ty Dellandrea share the hometown of Toronto, Ontario.
FLA Chief Commercial Officer Shawn Thornton was teammates with DAL forward Tyler Seguin and DAL Director of Player Development Rich Peverley on the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.
FLA Director of Amateur Scouting Shane Churla served as an amateur scout for DAL for seven seasons (2005-06 to 2012-13). He also played 366 games (1988-89 to 1995-96) for MNS/DAL, recording 60 points (24-36-60).
DAL Senior Advisor Marty Turco played for FLA Head Coach Joel Quenneville on CHI (2010-11). Turco was also teammates with FLA Chief Commercial Officer Shawn Thornton on BOS (2011-12).
FLA Director of Professional Scouting Al Tuer played six games (1987-88) for MNS, notching one assist.
FLA Professional Scout Patrick Eaves played 160 games (2014-15 to 2016-17), registering 81 points (46-35-81).
FLA Professional Scout Les Jackson spent 31 seasons (1985-86 to 1997-98, 2001-02 to 2019-20) in the MNS/DAL organization as a Scout, Assistant Coach, Assistant General Manager, General Manager, Director of Hockey Operations, Director Player Development, Director of Player Personnel, and Senior Advisor.
FLA Assistant Athletic Trainer Tommy Alva served as Assistant Athletic Trainer for DAL from 2003-04 to 2006-07 and is a native of Dallas, Texas.

CHASING FRANCHISE HISTORY

Franchise Goals	Franchise Assists	Franchise Points
1. Olli Jokinen (188)	1. Jonathan Huberdeau (317)	1. Jonathan Huberdeau (479)
2. Aleksander Barkov (171)	2. Aleksander Barkov (278)	2. Aleksander Barkov (449)
3. Jonathan Huberdeau (162)	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)