Florida Panthers News

Ekblad missed last night's game vs. the Red Wings but will play tonight vs. the Canadiens. Ekblad has played very well recently, posting eight assists in his last eight games.

Ekblad was forced to leave Monday's game in Tampa Bay and was not on the ice when the Panthers reconvened for practice after the Christmas break. Ekblad, who has six assists in his last five games, will sit out the weekend back-to-back but head coach Joel Quenneville expects to "see on the road trip."

Boqvist will be replaced by Connor Carrick, who will play for the first time since mid-October and will dress as a seventh defenseman.

Bobrovsky stopped 29 of 30 shots in the Panthers win over the Senators on Monday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Bobrovsky, who has been so good in his last six starts--going 3-3-0 with a 1.69 GAA and .953 SV%. Tonight he faces a Stars team that has gone 8-7-2 while scoring 2.59 goals per game on the road this year.

Bobrovsky stopped 29 of 30 shots in the Panthers win over the Senators on Monday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Bobrovsky, who has been so good in his last six starts--going 3-3-0 with a 1.69 GAA and .953 SV%. Tonight he faces a Stars team that has gone 8-7-2 while scoring 2.59 goals per game on the road this year.

Rodrigues was not on the ice for Friday's practice and is officially day-to-day with a lower-body ailment. With Rodrigues, Jack Eichel and Johan Larsson all dealing with injuries, the Sabres may need to recall a forward for Saturday.

Bennett missed the last 13 games with a lower-body injury but will play tonight vs. the Penguins. Bennett, who has just three goals and two assists (five points) in 20 games this season, will skate on the fourth-line with Tobias Rieder and Michael Frolik.

Cormier served as Mackenzie Blackwood's backup during his time with the Devils and returns to the AHL, where he has gone 1-5-1 with a 3.77 GAA and .884 SV% in seven games.

Kahkonen's first taste of the NHL went pretty well. He went 3-1-1 with a 2.96 GAA and .916 SV% but his return to the AHL suggests that Devan Dubnyk could be available on Tuesday. Kahkonen has gone 7-2-1 with a 2.47 GAA and .909 SV% in the AHL this year.

Sturm has been called up on several occasions this season but has yet to appear in a game with the Wild in 2019-20. The 24-year-old centre could make his season debut this week with Joel Eriksson Ek going on IR.

Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 41 shots in the Panthers' loss to the Bruins on Saturday. Bobrovsky has lost three straight (0-3-0) despite posting an impressive 2.40 GAA and .941 SV%--Florida has scored just four goals in front of him. Tonight he faces a Senators team that has lost six of their last seven (1-5-1) on the road while scoring just 2.14 goals per game.

Bobrovsky allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Panthers' loss to the Islanders. Despite the loss, it was another terrific outing for Bobrovsky, who has allowed just six goals on the last 142 shots (.958 SV%) that he has faced. He was pulled after allowing four goals on 23 shots in his first start vs. Boston.

Tkachuk was scratched Tuesday in Arizona after getting hurt Monday in Colorado but it looks like he'll play against the Maple Leafs. Tkachuk has played very well this season, scoring 12 goals with 15 assists (27 points) in 32 games this season.

Kahkonen allowed two goals on 33 shots in the Wild's shootout loss to the Ducks on Tuesday. Kahkonen has been simply spectacular since coming up from the AHL, going 2-0-1 with a 1.95 GAA and .947 SV% in his first three career starts. It's never easy to face Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl but you can do worse than Kahkonen on Thursday night.

Bobrovsky allowed two goals on 48 shots in the Panthers' 2-1 loss to the Lightning on Tuesday. After sitting out two games last week, Bobrovsky has turned things around, stopping 109 of the 113 shots (.965 SV%) that he faced in his last three starts. Tonight he faces an Islanders team that has won four of their lat six while scoring 2.83 goals per game.