Florida Panthers News

Bitetto was forced to leave Tuesday’s game vs. The Coyotes after logging 9:05 TOI. Luckily for the Jets, they had an impressive rookie in Ville Heinola sitting on the bench waiting to draw back into the lineup on Thursday.

Bunnaman has appeared in all three games this season but will come out of the lineup with Chris Stewart set to make his Flyers debut. Bunnaman has no points and just three shots while averaging 9:01 TOI/gm.

Bobrovsky allowed two goals on 32 shots in the Panthers’ shootout loss in Buffalo last Friday. Samuel Montembeault started his first game on Saturday, so they’ll come back to Bobrovsky on Monday afternoon. The Devils are averaging just 1.80 goals per game (30th in the NHL) through five games, so Bobrovsky should start the week with a ‘W’.

Rooney has played in the last three games, averaging 11:13 TOI/gm, but will be replaced by Jesper Boqvist on Monday. Rooney has no points, a plus-1 rating and two shots on goal in three games this season.

Boqvist played 12:16 TOI in the Devils second game of the season but has been a healthy scratch in four of their first five games. The 2017 second-round pick will skate on the third-line with Jack Hughes and Wayne Simmonds.

Bobrovsky was yanked after giving up four goals on 14 shots in the Panthers blowout loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. His Panthers career is off to a rocky start, posting an .859 SV% through three games. Bobrovsky has been notorious for slow starts in recent years though, so expect him to get back on track soon enough.

Kulikov missed Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh but is expected to replace Sami Niku in the lineup on Thursday. Kulikov has one goal and one assist while averaging 20:18 TOI/gm in three games this season.

Rodrigues has been a healthy scratch for the first three games of the regular season but will draw into the lineup on Wednesday. With Conor Sheary day-to-day with an upper-body injury, Rodrigues will skate on the third line with Casey Mittelstadt and Jimmy Vesey.

Kulikov has left the Winnipeg Jets to attend to a “personal family matter.” Josh Morrissey was back on the ice for Monday’s practice and took Kulikov’s spot. Sami Niku will also be recalled from Manitoba (AHL) to provide the Jets with blueline depth while Kulikov is away.

Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 35 shots in the Panthers win over the Lightning on Saturday. Bobrovsky has allowed seven goals on 64 shots (.890 SV%) in his first two starts with the Panthers, both of them coming against the high-powered Lightning. Tonight he faces a Hurricanes team that has started the season 3-0-0 while ranking second in Shots-per game (38.3) and averaging 3.33 goals per game.

Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 29 shots in the Panthers opening night loss in Tampa Bay. It was a tough start to his Panthers career, but matchups don’t come more difficult than the Lightning. He’ll look to bounce back against the same high-powered squad tonight, but use Thursday as a cautionary tale.

Schmidt was hurt in the first period of the season opener and is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury. With Schmidt sidelined, Nicolas Hague will draw into the Golden Knights lineup and make his NHL debut on Friday.

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that the Panthers prized offseason acquisition will start on opening night. Bobrovsky has started 60-plus games for three straight seasons and has led the NHL in wins (115), tied for second in SV% (.922) and tied for third in GAA (2.35) over that span. You didn’t draft Bobrovsky to bench him, but he draws a brutal matchup to open the season.

Schmidt had to be aided off the ice following a knee-on-knee collision midway through the first period. Schmidt did not return and head coach Gerard Gallant did not have a postgame update. Expect the Golden Knights to release some more information on Thursday.

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that the Panthers prized offseason acquisition will start on opening night. Bobrovsky has started 60-plus games for three straight seasons and has led the NHL in wins (115), tied for second in SV% (.922) and tied for third in GAA (2.35) over that span. You didn’t draft Bobrovsky to bench him, but he draws a brutal matchup to open the season.

After failing to eclipse 50 points in his first two NHL seasons, Tkachuk broke out for 34 goals and 43 assists (77 points) in 80 games. As good as Tkachuk played in 2018-19, he could see some regression in 2019-20, after relying on a 16.4 SH% and 10.2 on-ice SH%. Being stuck behind Johnny Gaudreau on the depth chart also limits Tkachuk’s chances of approaching a point-per-game this season.

Greer split the 2019 season between the AHL and NHL, scoring one goal and one assist in 15 games in Colorado. During his time in the AHL, Greer was second on the team with 44 points (19G / 25A) in 54 games. He will likely start 2020 in the AHL.

Rodrigues had nine goals and 20 assists (29 points) in 74 games during his first full NHL season in 2018-19. With bigger named prospects faltering around him, Rodrigues settled into a middle-6 role with the Sabres and finished the season ranked fourth among Buffalo forwards in TOI/GP (15:49). Entering the 2020 season, Rodrigues will once again be battling with Casey Mittelstadt for the No.2 centre role.