Even with star Matthew Tkachuk out indefinitely, the Florida Panthers seem poised to maintain their spot among the best in the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators are still searching for anything positive down the stretch of a disappointing season.
The Panthers aim to rebound from a home defeat when visiting the lowly Predators on Tuesday night.
Florida entered play Monday second in the Atlantic Division, one point behind Toronto. However, Tkachuk, second on the team with 57 points, will be out for an undetermined amount of time while dealing with a groin injury apparently suffered during the recent 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice told the “Joe Rose Show” on Monday that Tkachuk seems to be dealing with a long-term injury, “but he’s playing for us this year.”
Whether that means in the regular season or not until the playoffs remains to be seen.
“I don’t have a timeline on him,” Maurice added on the show. “We’re hoping it’s not too serious.”
Minus Tkachuk, Florida fell 2-1 to Seattle at home Saturday in its return from the 4 Nations break. Eetu Luostarinen scored for the Panthers, who managed only 27 shots while losing for the second time in seven games.
“We had our chances,” said Luostarinen, who has four points in his last eight games. “We can just improve from this.”
Regardless of who’s in its lineup, Florida would seem to have a good chance at bouncing back against the Predators. Carter Verhaeghe had two goals with an assist and Sam Reinhart registered one of his team-leading 31 goals during the Panthers’ 6-2 home win over Nashville on Nov. 7.
The Predators are close to the basement in the Western Conference with 47 points — ahead of only Chicago and San Jose, two teams in undisputed rebuilding mode. Nashville lost six straight before winning two in a row, then fell 5-0 to New Jersey at home on Sunday.
“It’s one of the toughest years I’ve been part of, coming in with so much expectation and just not living up to it” said Predators forward Ryan O’Reilly, a 16-year veteran.
“It hasn’t been fun, but we still have a lot of hockey left. We have to try to build on something here, and we’re not going to quit.”
Among the NHL’s lowest-scoring teams with 2.59 goals per game, Nashville has totaled just 18 in its last nine contests. Star Steven Stamkos, the Predators’ most prominent offseason acquisition, is caught in a career-worst nine-game point drought.
“I really feel for the group,” said Nashville coach Andrew Brunette, whose team has been shut out eight times this season.
Stamkos did score one of his 17 goals this season in November at Florida. Filip Forsberg, the team’s leader with 53 points, had an assist in that meeting, but he’s been blanked in six of the last eight games for Nashville.
Juuse Saros made 31 saves during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Colorado after allowing 10 goals in his previous two starts.
Meanwhile, Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky has been on a tear in his last seven starts with five wins, a 1.74 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. Panthers backup Spencer Knight stands 5-2-0 with a 1.84 GAA and a .935 save percentage as a starter since the calendar turned to 2025.
–Field Level Media
