The Florida Panthers (11-5-1) will be without captain Aleksander Barkov when they open a three-game homestand against the struggling Edmonton Oilers (5-10-1) tonight at Amerant Bank Arena. Barkov left Friday’s 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks when he was involved in a knee-on-knee collision with Jackson LaCombe early in the third period. He is listed as day-to-day. Defenseman Josh Mahura was placed on injured reserve Friday after suffering an undisclosed injury Thursday in Los Angeles. With the return of Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour, the Cats can easily absorb the short-term loss of Mahura. Anton Lundell is expected to move up to the top line to fill in for Barkov. Getting to full health has been an issue for the Panthers this season, but they certainly haven’t let it affect their play, going 7-2-1 over the last ten games.
The Oilers arrive in Sunrise after having its season-high three-game winning streak ended in a sloppy 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lighting on Saturday in the opener of a four-game road trip. Edmonton’s terrible start to season cost head Jay Woodcroft his job and marooned $5 million goaltender Jack Campbell in Bakersfield. Leon Draisaitl leads the team in assists (15) and points (21) while Zach Hyman has a club-best eight goals. The Oilers swept the Panthers last season.
- WHEN: 7 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Bally Sports Florida
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #LetsGoOilers #EDMvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 2
- LAST MEETING: @EDM 4, FLA 3 (OT) – (Recap) 11/28/2022
- NEXT MEETING: December 16, 2024
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (8-4-1 .907 / 2.63 1SO) / Edmonton: Pickard (0-0-0)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Edmonton
Monday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- BOSTON (13-1-2 28P) at TAMPA BAY (8-6-4 20P) 7 p.m.
Idle: TOR (22P), DET (19P), BUF (17P), OTT (16P), MTL (16P)