The Panthers lost again last night and my understanding is they've made the decision to be sellers as far as listening on pending UFAs, which most notably include the likes of AJ. Greer and Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky has a 16-team no-trade list. Doesn't mean he will be dealt...
(Jeremy Swayman) was really good and we obviously wanted to give him the start in the outdoor game," coach Marco Sturm told reporters in Florida. "And this one today I think is a tricky one. We have the Olympics coming up and (Swayman's) probably thinking about that, too. We thought Korpi was playing really well. (Swayman) had already played three games in a row, so there's a lot more to it. We hope Korpi will be the right guy.
"¡Vamos Gatos! Night" is the Panthers' annual celebration of the Hispanic community in South Florida. It includes music, dancing and food vendors offering much more than the normal chicken fingers and fries. But the most memorable aspect of "¡Vamos Gatos! Night" features the Panthers inviting local artists to transform the team's logos and jerseys into vibrant art pieces. Previous jersey designs have incorporated iconography such as pineapples, Cafecito cups and the colors of Latin American countries' flags.
But if we're going to be real, San Jose Sharks defenceman Vincent Desharnais had the better return to action. Not only did he score a goal in his return, but he also had himself a highlight reel open-ice hit on Matthew Tkachuk. And he won a fight against Tkachuk. Safe to say it wasn't the impact that Matthew Tkachuk had hoped to make upon his return, especially with his Florida Panthers having just thirty-four games left to claim and solidify a playoff spot.
Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais upended Panthers forward Mackie Samoskevich along the boards in the San Jose end. Evan Rodrigues then came in and leveled Desharnais with a hit from behind. That caused a melee to the side of the Sharks' net, with Nedeljkovic jumping to get a piece of Rodrigues. A few seconds later, Bobrovsky skated the length of the ice to get at Nedeljkovic.
Nikolaj Ehlers notched a hat trick and added an assist; Taylor Hall scored twice; and Mark Jankowski lit the lamp and had a pair of helpers in the rout. Andrei Svechnikov, Eric Robinson and Alexander Nikishin also lit the lamp for the Hurricanes, who went 4-for-5 on the power play to empathetically ended a two-game losing streak.
A.J. Greer got off the schneid, scoring a pair of goals to help the Florida Panthers topple the Buffalo Sabres by a 4-3 count at Key Bank Center. Aided by an early interference minor on Josh Doan, the Panthers drew first blood 2:35 into the action when Carter Verhaeghe took a pass from Sam Reinhart, who was knocked down, and fed Uvis Baliniskis at the left point.
Florida shook off disappointing losses to Toronto and Montreal and left Canada with a big two points after grinding out a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. Gustav Forsling and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and and assist and Evan Rodrigues ended a long goalless drought to knot the score in the first period. Aaron Ekblad contributed a pair of helpers and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 of 19 shots to collect his 18th win of the campaign.
Brad Marchand joined already-named Florida Panthers teammate Sam Reinhart on Canada's 2026 Winter Olympic team. The 37-year-old Marchand is enjoying a stellar season, leading the Panthers in the scoring with 23 goals, 22 assists and 45 points. Marchand and Reinhart for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off this past February. It won't be official until Friday, however, defenseman Seth Jones has reportedly been named to the United States entry for the tournament in Milano Cortina.
