This is one of those games that you see when the schedule is released, and you immediately circle. The Carolina Hurricanes will be in Sunrise on Friday night to begin a back-to-back against the Florida Panthers. The Canes come into the game on a heater, matching their season-long win streak with their fifth straight win on Wednesday night in Nashville.
Along with keeping the winning streak rolling, Sebastian Aho found the scoresheet for the first time in five games. He scored two goals and added an assist, all in the third period, to help put the game out of reach. Pyotr Kochetkov was phenomenal down the stretch as the Predators made a push. He outdueled Juuse Saros to help the Canes earn the season sweep against Nashville.
On the Other Side: Florida Panthers
When you're the two-time defending champions, there is no team with loftier expectations than you. The Florida Panthers achieved back-to-back Stanley Cups, doing it again against the Edmonton Oilers. They followed it up by re-signing every big free agent before July 1. It rubbed salt in the wound for many around the league, watching the league's best team maintain all of its stars.
This makes the league less sympathetic when injuries ravage some of its biggest contributors. Matthew Tkachuk opted for offseason surgery after a lingering injury from the 4 Nations tournament. Then, Aleksander Barkov tore his ACL and MCL during the preseason, likely keeping him out for the season. Add long-term injuries to Jonah Gadjovich and Dmitry Kulikov to the mix, too.
Regardless, the Panthers remain just as dangerous. Brad Marchand is Top 10 in goals (19) and leads the team in points (37). Sam Reinhart remains a menace with 17 goals. Even without some of their stars, they remain as deep as ever up front. Sergei Bobrovsky hasn't quite recaptured his steadiness from the playoffs, but he has won his last four starts.
Last Season's Meetings: The Panthers won two of three during the regular season, winning both ends of a home-and-home right after Thanksgiving before the Hurricanes won in early January in Sunrise. When it really mattered, the Cats clubbed the Canes in five games in the Eastern Conference Finals, with Carolina finally snapping their conference finals losing streak in Game 4.
Panthers to Watch
Mackie Samoskevich: There are plenty of stars to watch from the Panthers, but I'll have my attention elsewhere. Samoskevich burst onto the scene last year, and he has continued to be a pleasant surprise for the group. He has been solid again this season. Samoskevich has been a setup man, especially recently. He enters tonight with five assists in his last seven contests.
Eetu Luostarinen: While he was fantastic last postseason for the champs, the former Hurricane struggled to score against his old squad. Luostarinen was limited to one goal in five games. Of course, he had plenty of help around him to make his lack of offense less detrimental. He missed nearly a month with an injury and still hasn't quite gotten going this season.
Hurricanes to Watch
Seth Jarvis: Scoring his 19th goal of the season Wednesday night, Jarvis is on the verge of hitting 20 before Christmas. For reference, it took him until March to do it in 2023-24 and the end of January last season. Jarvis was one of the few effective Hurricanes against the Panthers in the conference finals, leading the team with six points in the five-game series loss.
Jalen Chatfield: It was evident how much the Hurricanes missed Chatfield during the conference finals. Losing him late in the Washington series, the Canes iced a young defensive group without their gem being able to go. The points haven't been coming for Chatfield this season, but he was a standout in Wednesday's win in Nashville.