Next opponents of the Canadian | Five things to know about the Panthers

The Canadian will be in Sunrise on Thursday evening to face the Florida Panthers, a club that is doing very well and is finally having success. Here’s a little why.

1. They are on fire

With a 3-2 victory Tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, the Panthers improved their record to 8-2 in the last 10 games. As of Wednesday, we find them in first place in the Eastern Association rankings, and in second place in the general rankings. But that may not be the most impressive bit; The most impressive part is that they are 12-2 in their last 14 games, and they have not allowed more than two goals in any of those games. In fact, the Florida club beat its opponents by a cumulative score of 51 to 22 during this period. All of this means that the Canadiens players will need to display their good weather form when they arrive at Sunrise on Thursday evening.

2. Finally, there are people

It is well known that victory attracts the world, and the world loves victory, or at least something like it. This is even more true when a club has to bring its people to an arena that is built in a field in the middle of nowhere, even if there are palm trees all around. Thus, Amerant Bank Arena, the home of the Panthers – which has also changed its name at least 50 times since its construction – is finally a place where it is good to be seen. No doubt attracted by the club’s recent successes and also by this recent presence in the final, Panthers fans often go to Sunrise this season. In 2023-24, the Florida team attracts an average of 18,510 spectators per game, which gives it the 11th^e rank in the assist rankings in the National League. This is a marked improvement from last season, when the Panthers played in front of an average of 16,682 fans, placing them 26^e rank in terms of assistance.

3. The Bob is replaced

Who in this room believed that Sergei Bobrovsky was on his way to becoming a finished goaltender, in addition to being paid way too much to no longer be able to stop pucks? We can probably put our hands down because it would take too long to count. In the meantime, the 35-year-old goalkeeper is making a strong comeback reminiscent of that of Hulk Hogan with the NWO. Bobrovsky allowed two goals in the Panthers’ last game, and he has allowed two goals or fewer in his last nine games, unheard of in club history. His record in these last nine games: eight wins, only one loss, an efficiency percentage of .945, and an average of 1.65. He has played 43 games this season, compared to just 18 for reserve Anthony Stolarz.

4. Sam Reinhart is going to the bank

Indeed, because it turns out that Reinhart is living his best life, with a harvest of 39 goals and 29 assists for 68 points in 59 games. As of Wednesday, the 28-year-old striker is second in the scorers’ list behind Auston Matthews, and that’s very good for him, since he could become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. He has already made it known that he and the Panthers are trying to come to an agreement, which will certainly allow him to receive more than the modest salary of 6.5 million dollars that he commands this season. We take this opportunity to recall that Reinhart, who reached the 30-goal mark in the last two seasons, was once a second overall pick of the Buffalo Sabers in 2014, but that he was traded to the Panthers in exchange for the Quebec goaltender Devon Levi and a 2022 first-round pick who became 19-year-old Jiri Kulich, an AHL player who has played just one game so far with the Sabres.

5. Brandon Montour is doing well too

And since we are in the poor decisions of the Sabres, another of their formers, Brandon Montour, is also doing wonderfully in Florida. The 29-year-old defenseman had three points in the Panthers’ last game, against the Sabres, bringing his point total to 22 in 43 games this season (not as spectacular as last season, when Montour had obtained 73 points in 80 games). But Montour is part of this long list of players without a contract for next season with the Panthers, and the Florida club will have some heartbreaking decisions to make.