St. Louis Blues vs. Florida Panthers Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 20th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The captain of the Florida Panthers, Aleksander Barkov, is still recovering from an illness that caused him to miss two games.
In his first game back, a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, Barkov earned an assist.
After playing only 16:01 against the Wild, Barkov is expected to have a larger role in the Panthers' next game against the St. Louis Blues on Friday in Sunrise, Florida.
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Barkov expressed his happiness about returning to the ice, saying, "I felt good and I'm glad to be back, especially with the win. So, I'm really happy."
Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who had a goal and two assists in the game against Minnesota, praised Barkov, saying, "He is consistently incredible and even when he's not at his best, he's still one of the best players on the ice. He's a crucial part of our team."
Barkov's return on Wednesday was particularly important as center Sam Bennett was unable to play due to illness. Bennett's status for the game against the Blues is uncertain.
The Panthers finished their five-game road trip against Western Conference teams with a record of 3-2-0. After a shootout win against Seattle, they were shut out in back-to-back games against Vancouver and Calgary, but bounced back with wins against Edmonton and Minnesota, scoring a total of 12 goals.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice acknowledged the challenges of traveling from Florida to the West Coast, saying, "It's never about the numbers. I like the way we rebounded. Those two losses were good because we learned from them."
The Panthers have been on a hot streak, winning 8 out of their last 11 games. They will now play six of their next seven games at home, where they have a record of 9-5-1 this season.
The Blues will be playing their second game in as many nights when they face the Panthers. Goaltender Jordan Binnington started in their 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, but was replaced by Joel Hofer in the second period.
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Blues coach Jim Montgomery explained his decision to switch goaltenders, saying, "I just needed to change the momentum of the game. We were down, we had just gotten it to 2-1 before giving up another goal. I just wanted to slow the game down and get an opportunity to talk to the team on the bench."
Binnington allowed three goals on 11 shots before being replaced by Hofer, who stopped all seven shots he faced. Montgomery typically splits goaltending duties in back-to-back games and indicated that Binnington's early exit would not necessarily change that pattern.
The Blues will be playing their fifth game in a span of seven days, with Friday's game being their 10th road game in a 14-game stretch. Center Radek Faksa, who has missed the last five games with a groin laceration, may return to the lineup against the Panthers after participating in the morning skate on Thursday.
On Thursday, the Blues made a roster move, recalling defenseman Tyler Tucker to fill the spot left by the trade of Pierre-Olivier Joseph to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tucker made his season debut against the Lightning and had a minus-2 rating in 8:29 of ice time.
Montgomery spoke highly of Tucker's performance in the minor leagues, saying, "All the reports are he's had a terrific season, especially in the last month down in Springfield. Just his identity, we kind of feel we need that in our D corps. Someone with a heavy presence, someone that's physical, someone that defends the net hard and lays some big hits out there."
Defenseman Philip Broberg, who was sidelined with illness on Thursday, is questionable for the game against the Panthers.
St. Louis Blues vs. Florida Panthers Recap DEC 4TH 2021
Seldom-used forward Maxim Mamin scored twice, including the tying goal late in the third period Saturday afternoon, as the host Florida Panthers rallied to win a 4-3 shootout over the St. Louis Blues in Sunrise, Fla.
It was Mamin's first career multi-point game.
Anton Lundell and Sam Rinehart scored for Florida in the shootout. St. Louis' Ryan O'Neil tried to tie the shootout 2-2, but his forehand shot was blocked by Sergei Bobrovsky's right pad, ending the game.
The Panthers, who have the NHL's best home record at 14-1-0, never led in the game, yet won their third straight contest. This victory wasn't as dramatic as the past two, when Florida rallied from three-goal deficits.
Still, the Panthers trailed 3-2 until they pulled Bobrovsky with 2:36 left in the third period. Two seconds later, the puck was in the back of the St. Louis net, courtesy of a faceoff win by the Panthers' Lundell leading to Mamin's second goal of the game.
Reinhart scored the other goal for the Panthers, who got 22 saves from Bobrovsky.
Backup goalie Ville Husso was busy for the Blues, making 48 saves. Logan Brown, Jake Walman and Brandon Saad scored for the Blues. It was Walman's second career goal in 41 games, and his first in 16 contests this season.
Saad leads the Blues with 10 goals this season.
In the first and second periods, St. Louis scored a goal and Florida matched each time.
The Blues opened the scoring on Brown's tap-in just 5:24 into the game. That goal was set by Dakota Joshua, whose slick stickwork left Brown with an open left side of the net from point-bank range.
Florida tied the score with 7:04 elapsed in the first as Mamin grabbed a loose puck and beat Husso to his glove side.
Then 6:36 into the second period Blues center Ryan O'Reilly forced a turnover along the boards by working veteran Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas. O'Reilly got the puck to Walman in the slot, and Walman unleased a blast that gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead.
Florida tied the score again as Reinhart tapped in an easy rebound shot. The goal was set up by Jonathan Huberdeau's cross-ice pass to Lucas Carlsson, whose shot from the left circle went off Husso's glove and left pad, leaving the juicy rebound for Reinhart.
St. Louis took its third lead with 15:31 left in the third. O'Reilly made another great play as his pass got past Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad's skate and fed Saad, whose shot slipped under Bobrovsky's right pad for a 3-2 Blues lead.
The teams will get a rematch on Tuesday in St. Louis.