After a perfect road trip, the Florida Panthers look to extend their winning streak to four games on Tuesday when they host the Utah Mammoth in Sunrise, Fla.
The Panthers are 6-4-0 over their last 10 games despite playing nine of those contests away from home. Florida heads back to Sunrise after a 3-0-0 road trip that included a shootout win at Winnipeg, an overtime victory at Minnesota and a 5-1 triumph at Chicago on Sunday.
The Blackhawks and Panthers were tied 1-1 until 5:20 of the third period, when Mackie Samoskevich scored the first of four unanswered Florida goals. The late surge left the Panthers triumphant after what coach Paul Maurice described as a grueling day.
“We got to the hotel (in Chicago) at 3:30 in the morning, and then it’s a 6 o’clock start,” Maurice said. “It’s got all the reasons why you should get the doors blown off you, but (we were) really patient, really hard and smart. … (We’ve) got the experience and a bit of a pedigree that when it’s hard, that doesn’t mean we can’t win.”
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions remain outside the playoff picture in the tightly contested Eastern Conference. Over in the West, recent strong play has elevated the Mammoth to the top wild-card position.
As hot as the Mammoth have been in recent weeks, they fell to an even hotter team, Tampa Bay, on Monday. Utah’s nine-game points streak (8-0-1) and five-game winning streak were both ended in a 2-0 loss to the Lightning, who are 15-1-1 in their past 17 games.
While Utah’s franchise-record points streak is no more, the Mammoth gave it their all during the goaltending duel. Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 28 shots faced, while Karel Vejmelka was sharp in saving 27 of 29 Lightning shots.
“I think we played a really good game, especially at 5-on-5. … Unfortunately, too many (untimely) penalties,” Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said. “Not just (that) we got in the box, but the timing of when we got in the box, and I think that cost us the game.”
Utah was 0-for-3 on the power play Monday and the Lightning were 2-for-4, as special teams continues to be an issue for the Mammoth. Utah’s 15.5% power-play conversion rate is the second lowest in the NHL, and the Mammoth’s penalty-kill unit is just 16-for-24 over the past seven games.
For the second game of the back-to-back, former Panthers goalie Vitek Vanecek gets the start in Utah’s net. Vanecek is 2-9-2 with a 2.92 goals against average and a .883 save percentage in 13 games this season, and he is looking to snap a personal 10-game winless drought (0-8-2).
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to start for the Panthers. Bobrovsky has an uncharacteristically modest 3.08 GAA and .875 save percentage, but has still managed a 20-14-1 record in 35 games.
Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals (26) and points (50), while Carter Vergaeghe tops the team with 25 assists. Clayton Keller is the Mammoth’s leader in assists (34) and points (50), and Dylan Guenther paces the club with 24 goals.
Florida is 3-0-0 all-time against Utah, including a 4-3 victory in Salt Lake City on Dec. 10.
–Field Level Media
