The Florida Panthers are looking to pick up points as they try to make a late-season push toward a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Time is running short for Florida, with only 22 games remaining in the regular season and an eight-point deficit to try and overcome.
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The Cats have a great opportunity to quickly make up some ground in the coming days, but it won’t be easy as they’ll play three road games in the next four days, starting Tuesday in New Jersey.
Over the past month, the Devils have not had an easy stretch, winning just two of their past nine outings.
The Devils’ recent struggles have dropped them to next-to-last in the Eastern Conference, with 60 points through 60 games despite being a divisional playoff team last season.
Florida arrives in Newark coming off consecutive crushing defeats, one on home ice to the Buffalo Sabres in which a controversial goal was allowed and one on Long Island where the Panthers tied the game late only to give up a backbreaking goal in the final seconds.
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One big positive for the Panthers was that they welcomed defenseman Dmitry Kulikov back into the lineup against the Islanders. Kulikov was hurt during the second game of the season and had been working his way back for several months.
Several other injured players, to include Tomas Nosek, Seth Jones and Jonah Gadjovich, are all on the road trip with the Panthers and could crack the lineup at any time.
Whether there is enough time for the Cats to make a final run at a playoff spot remains to be seen, but if they’re going to give it the old college try, they have to start making progress as soon as possible.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Tuesday’s joust in New Jersey:
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Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
A.J. Greer – Jesper Boqvist – Sandis Vilmanis
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Donovan Sebrango – Jeff Petry
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Photo caption: Nov 20, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) moves the puck behind the net of New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen (34) during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
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