The Florida Panthers have been getting some positive results lately.
Currently enjoying a season-long-tying five-game homestand, the Cats have won seven of their past nine games overall and enter play Saturday one point behind Toronto for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
Florida will look to make it three straight wins overall when they host the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.
This will be the second meeting of the season between the Panthers and Flames.
Florida was shutout by rookie Dustin Wolf in what was the second of back-to-back blankings the Cats suffered during their swing through western Canada.
Calgary currently sits one point behind Vancouver for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
They arrive in South Florida with several former Panthers players on the roster, one of whom will be getting a warm welcome and “thank you” video on the jumbotron.
Ryan Lomberg spent the past four seasons with the Panthers, acting as a physical and emotional leader on and off the ice for the Cats during his tenure.
Lomberg played an integral role in Florida’s culture change, helping cultivate one of the best locker room atmospheres in the league.
Even as recently as Thursday night, when Calgary played the Tampa Bay Lightning, Lomberg couldn’t help but let his Panthers roots shine through in a very public way.
Asked during the pregame warmup about his history inside Amalie Arena and with the Lightning, Lomberg paused for a moment before dropping an absolutely epic response.
“I like the palm trees and the sunshine, but I f–king hate these guys.”
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s dance with the Flames:
Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt
Scratches: Matthew Tkachuk
Caption for photo at top of page: Dec 14, 2024; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames center Jonathan Huberdeau (10) and Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (7) fights for position in front of Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight (30) during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. (Sergei Belski-Imagn Images)
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