Recapping a successful road trip as surging Florida Panthers prepare for long homestand
The Florida Panthers’ final long road trip is over, and by all accounts it was a success.
The Panthers went a perfect 4-0 on the 10-day trip with wins against the Arizona Coyotes, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues to extend their win streak to a season-long eight games. It was the first time the Panthers swept a road trip of at least four games since going 5-0 Feb. 11-20, 2017, on a trip that went through Nashville, San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles and St. Louis.
Florida (26-12-2) outscored opponents 21-7 on the trip and is just two points behind the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Atlantic Division nearing the halfway mark of the season.
And now, the Panthers get to return home for an extended period. Six of their next seven games are at Amerant Bank Arena.
It starts with a five-game homestand that includes games against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday (7 p.m.), New Jersey Devils on Saturday (6 p.m.), Anaheim Ducks on Monday (1 p.m.), Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday (7 p.m.) and Minnesota Wild on Jan. 19 (7 p.m.).
Florida then goes to Nashville to face the Predators on Jan. 22 before coming back to Sunrise to play the Coyotes on Jan. 24.
Before getting to what’s ahead, here’s a look back at the road trip.
Game recaps
▪ Panthers 4, Coyotes 1: With the game tied after two periods, the Panthers scored three times in the third period — including twice in a 42-second span to take the lead for good — to kick off the road trip with a win. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 of 22 shots.
▪ Panthers 4, Golden Knights 1: Three power-play goals, a three-point game from Matthew Tkachuk and another dominant effort by Bobrovsky (26 saves on 27 shots) helped the Panthers secure the regular-season sweep of the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
▪ Panthers 8, Avalanche 4: Sam Reinhart recorded his first hat trick of the season. His final of the three goals was Florida’s game-winning goal and the first of four goals the Panthers scored in the third period. Aleksander Barkov added four assists, while Matthew Tkachuk had four points (one goal, three assists) and Carter Verhaeghe posted a three-point night (two goals, one assist).
▪ Panthers 5, Blues 1: Tkachuk scored a hat trick in the third period and Anthony Stolarz stopped the final 27 shots he faced to cap the perfect trip.
Matthew Tkachuk heating up
It was a matter of time until Tkachuk got to this point. He had just five goals through the Panthers’ first 36 games when the calendar flipped to 2024 and the Panthers started this road trip.
Safe to say he has found his scoring touch.
Tkachuk scored six goals and dished out another six assists over the four-game trip, capped by the hat trick against the Blues where all three of his goals came in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
“I haven’t changed anything,” Tkachuk said in a postgame interview on Bally Sports Florida. “I’m just trying to get to the net more. I haven’t changed anything in my routine or how I get to games, so I guess I was just waiting to get to 2024.”
Reinhart an All-Star … and nearing NHL goals scored lead
While Tkachuk is finally starting to get hot, Reinhart is doing everything he can to stay hot. Reinhart scored at least one goal in all four games of the road trip and had the game-winning goal in three of the four outings.
Reinhart, who last week was named an All-Star for the first time in his NHL career, is second in the NHL with 29 goals, two behind the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews. His 14 power-play goals lead the league, as do his eight game-winning goals.
Bobrovsky still dominating
The Panthers’ veteran goaltender won all three games he started on the road trip, stopping 69 of 75 shots he faced for a .920 save percentage in wins over Arizona, Vegas and Colorado. Overall, Bobrovsky has won six consecutive games and 11 of his past 14 dating back to Nov. 27.
On the season, Bobrovsky is 20-9-1 with a .911 save percentage and 2.45 goals against average. His 20 wins are tied for the third most in the NHL and his 2.45 goals against average is the third-best among goalies who have started at least 25 games.
Aleksander Barkov with the helpers
While Barkov didn’t find the back of the net in any of the four games, he did dish out six assists on the road trip and has 14 total helpers over the course of the eight-game win streak.
Since the streak began on Dec. 23, Barkov’s 14 assists are the most in the NHL.
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