#florida-panthers

#florida-panthers

The Florida Panthers (3-2) will do battle with the New Jersey Devils (2-1) tonight at The Rock in Newark, marking the third tilt of five-game road trip that has gotten off to tough start for the two-time defending champions. Los Gatos could only muster up 21 shots and a single tally in a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings last night. Brad Marchand was the only lamp-lighter, halving the deficit with 4:55 remaining in the second period with a wrap-around goal after Anton Lundell won an offensive zone faceoff.

Florida overcame a slow start, and a two-goal deficit, and looked to be on the cusp of another victory in Philadelphia, but a needless offensive zone penalty on Sam Bennett snuffed out a late power-play chance and helped swing momentum back the other way as the Cats eventually fell 5-2 to the Flyers. Sam Reinhart had a strong game, scoring a shorthanded goal and setting up a power-play marker for Bennett, which tied the tilt midway through the final frame.

Seth Jones had waited most of his life to get a Stanley Cup ring. And then he had to wait even longer before he could see it. The Florida Panthers handed out the rings from their second consecutive title on Monday, and Jones was the first person on the long list of players, coaches and staff who got the prized pieces of jewelry during the ceremony.

With its final choice of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville, the Florida Panthers selected Belarusian forward Stepan Zvyagin in the seventh round (198th overall), a pick that originally belonged to the Arizona Coyotes, from the KHL's Dinamo Minsk organization. In 15 KHL games with Dinamo during his draft season, Zvyagin netted one goal. He was much more productive against his peer group, racking up 14 goals and 33 points in 37 games with Babruysk Dinamo-Shinnik of the MHL.

After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, the Florida Panthers had a bit of a scare heading into the offseason. Three crucial players, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Aaron Ekblad, were set up to become free agents. GM Bill Zito had a big task on his hands and knew he had to bring them back. He also had to retool the roster in hopes of being back in the Stanley Cup finals, but was it enough?

Listen, what Florida GM Bill Zito pulled off this offseason was quite impressive. While the Panthers were basking in a second straight Stanley Cup victory, Zito managed to re-sign Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand, while also acquiring an intriguing backup goalie in Daniil Tarasov. All good ... right? Florida can't be concerned about their depth when they've kept so many key players in the fold ... correct?

The Florida Panthers concluded the 2025 NHL Prospect Tournament in Wesley Chapel, FL with an empathic 6-1 romp over the Nashville Predators at AdventHealth Center Ice. Sandis Vilmanis, Ludvig Jansson, Liam McLinskey, Eamon Powell, Cristophe Tellier and Josh Davies got the goals for the Panthers, who scored twice in each period. Powell drew the primary assist on McLinskey's marker with a great stretch pass. Gracyn Sawchyn and Jack Devine also had helpers.

Jeff Petry is 37 and needs to be insulated, but there are reasons to believe he could have a renaissance year and significantly outperform his league-minimum base salary. First, there is the expected change in workload. Petry averaged nearly 19 minutes per game (fourth among Red Wings defensemen) and was saddled with a subpar partner in Ben Chiarot. In other words, he was thrust into a challenging role that he was no longer equipped to handle.

The New York Rangers re-signed restricted free agent goaltending prospects Dylan Garand and Talyn Boyko to one-year, two-way contracts. Garand, a fourth-round pick in 2020, appeared in 39 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, posting a 20-10-8 record, 2.73 goals against avenue, .913 save percentage and three shutouts. Boyko, a fourth-rounder in 2021, spent most of last season with the ECHL Tulsa Oilers, where he went 20-8-5 with 2.66 goals against avenue, .913 save percentage and two shutouts.