The top of the East is up for grabs when Panthers face Carolina. ‘They’re waiting for us’
Andrew Brunette spent the evenings of the Florida Panthers’ All-Star break keeping tabs on what else was going on across the league. While the Panthers had two weeks off for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game, some teams have been playing since Feb. 7.
A game Saturday amounted to appointment viewing for the interim coach. The Carolina Hurricanes headed west to face the Minnesota Wild in a meeting between Stanley Cup contenders.
They also happen to be Florida’s next two opponents.
“I shouldn’t have done it,” he said with a smirk. “It kind of made for some restless nights.”
A daunting three-game road trip to start the second half of the season begins Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Raleigh, North Carolina, with first place in the Eastern Conference on the line. The Panthers (32-10-5) hold a two-point edge on the Hurricanes (32-11-3) and even have the edge in points percentage after Carolina dropped three of of four to start the second half.
It will be a marquee meeting at PNC Arena — and a fitting first opportunity for Florida to play on TNT as part of the network’s new national deal — and a showcase for two of the league’s most exciting young teams.
“They’re pretty stacked,” Brandon Montour said. “It’s going to be a good test.”
Of course, the defenseman says the same about his Panthers.
“I think it’s just the same thing,” he said when then asked to provide a scouting report for his team. “We’ve got a lot of skill up front, our D’s been good, our goalies have been great and you need all that to win it. It shows in that first half.”
Last year, the Hurricanes were the only team to regularly give Florida serious trouble. The Panthers lost 6 of 8 to Carolina — the only team Florida had a losing record against in the regular season — and finished second to Carolina in the makeshift Central Division.
Now the Panthers and Hurricanes are back in opposite East divisions, setting up their matchup Wednesday as a potential Eastern Conference finals preview, and, in a much smaller sample size, Florida has fared much better against Carolina this year with a chance now to sweep the three-game regular-season series.
They’re something close to mirrors of one another, which explains how they occupy the top two spots in the conference, in terms of points percentage. The Panthers have the highest scoring offense in the league at 4.07 goals per game and the Hurricanes are fifth with 3.48. Florida leads the league in 5-on-5 shot attempts per 60 minutes — a good indicator of possession time — and Carolina ranks third. They both rank in the top five in 5-on-5 shots on goal, scoring chances and high-danger chances per 60 minutes — the Panthers lead the league in all three categories — as they use two of the league’s deepest rosters to dominate time on attack and wear down opponents. The most glaring difference is Florida has a middle-of-the-pack defense, while the Hurricanes have allowed the fewest goals per game in the league.
“If we think we’re going to ease our way into the game, we’ve got another thing coming,” Brunette said. “They’re waiting for us. I think they want to prove they’re better than we are and we’ve got to be up to that challenge.”
Panthers ready to activate Acciari
Although Noel Acciari might not be in the lineup Wednesday, the Panthers expect to activate the forward before the start of their three-game trip.
Acciari, who has not played since tearing his pectoral muscle in the preseason, participated in all four of the Florida’s practices in the last week to get ready to return for the second half. Brunette expects him to play at some point on the road trip, which wraps up Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“We’ll try to get him in there in the next couple games,” Brunette said. “It was good to see him back with the group.”
Goaltender Spencer Knight, however, will remain in the American Hockey League until the end of the trip. The Panthers loaned the rookie to AHL Charlotte, North Carolina, on Feb. 2 to let him keep getting work through the All-Star break and Brunette doesn’t expect him to return until at least next week.
Florida has a day off between each of their three games on the trip, which could let star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky start all three without much problem. Goaltender Jonas Johansson, who has not appeared in a game yet for the Panthers this season, will be Bobrovsky’s backup through at least the weekend.
