Panthers experimenting with forward lines. Plus Montour’s minutes and Staal’s milestone
.JPG "Arizona Coyotes center Jack McBain (22) battles with Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Tempe, Ariz., Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.")
Due to a combination of injuries, underperformance and a suspension to All-Star winger Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice has been tinkering with the team’s forward lines to find what groupings will best maximize the team’s offensive production.
It’s still a work in progress, and Maurice is fine with that. After all, it’s still early in the season.
But considering the talent among Florida’s forwards, the Panthers want to improve on their 3.23 goals per game which ranks tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for 14th in the league entering Wednesday.
“Learn as much as you can,” Maurice said after the Panthers’ morning skate on Wednesday before opening a five-game homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes,” and do it through adversity. We’re not doing it because everybody’s healthy and nothing’s working. You’ve got some guys injured and you’ve got some guys that are out of your lineup. Play with it now, see the pieces that work. We’ll see. We’re pretty comfortable with the pieces on the first three lines for sure.”
As for those lines...
▪ When Tkachuk is active, Florida’s top line will remain Aleksander Barkov at center with Carter Verhaeghe and Tkachuk on the wings. The trio has played 65 1/2 minutes together in 5-on-5 play through 12 games and have outscored opponents 8-1 when all three are on the ice together — far exceeding their expected goals for (5.56) and expected goals against (2.09), according to the advanced hockey statistics website Natural Stat Trick.
Tkachuk is serving the second game of his two-game suspension Wednesday but will be back in the lineup on Saturday when Florida hosts the Edmonton Oilers. Colin White took Tkachuk’s spot on the top line Sunday in the Panthers’ 5-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
▪ On the second line, Maurice likes the combination of Eetu Luostarinen on the wing with Sam Bennett at center because of their combination of size and physicality. The fact that both can play center adds another dynamic to the duo as well, especially when it comes to faceoffs. Nick Cousins served as the right wing for that line on Sunday in Anaheim.
“We have to see that [pair] against some heavier competition,” Maurice said, “with a little more push back.”
▪ The third line consists of a partial reunion from last season with Anton Lundell at center with Sam Reinhart on the wing. The two played on the same line for the majority of the 2021-22 season to much success. Florida outscored opponents 31-17 at full strength when Lundell and Reinhart were on the ice together and held opponents to just 131 scoring chances. They have only played together at full strength for about 31 minutes so far this season, but Reinhart did score his first two goals of the season on Sunday.
“Those two guys got together and all of a sudden they’re both faster,” Maurice said. “I’m not going to mess around with it a whole lot. There’s chemistry. I’ll find somebody to play on the wing.”
That somebody on Sunday was Ryan Lomberg, who added physicality to an already defensively responsible line that can produce offensively as well.
▪ Rounding out the group, at least for now, is a fourth line centered by Eric Staal with Aleksi Heponiemi and Rudolfs Balcers on the wings. Patric Hornqvist will take over one of the winger spots on this line once he returns to the lineup. He has missed the past two games after taking a high hit on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks and is out again Wednesday.
Montour’s minutes
The Panthers are optimistic that defenseman Aaron Ekblad will be activated from long-term injured reserve Saturday when they host Edmonton. That will be a huge boost to the Panthers’ blue line.
But it’s hard to deny the contributions Brandon Montour has provided in Ekblad’s absence.
The 28-year-old defenseman is averaging 26:27 of ice time this season, second behind only the Los Angeles Kings’ Drew Doughty (26:34). He’s been on Florida’s top defensive pairing with Gustav Forsling and has also been on Florida’s top power-play unit.
And while Montour is known for his offense — his 12 points (four goals, eight assists) rank tied for fifth among defensemen — he is also second among Florida defensemen in blocked shots (18) and third in hits (16).
“The more you play,” Montour said, “the more engaged you are.”
Eric Staal milestone
Center Eric Staal on Wednesday will play in his 1,300th career regular-season NHL game, becoming just the 64th player in NHL history to hit that milestone.
“It just seems like everything goes fast — in the blink of an eye is what I heard when I started in the league,” Staal said after morning skate Wednesday. “But it really feels that way when you’re at that number.”
And, fittingly enough, that milestone game is coming against a Hurricanes team that picked Staal second overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Level Draft and with whom he played 909 games over 12 seasons and won a Stanley Cup in 2006.
It will be a family affair, too, with two of his brothers also on the ice Wednesday. Marc Staal is a defenseman for Florida. Jordan Staal is a center for Carolina.
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