^{Florida brings their shiny Cup rings to the Delta Center for the second straight year}

The Florida Panthers visit the Delta Center tonight – for the first and last time this year… until we see them in June for the Finals, that is. This level of delusion is about on par with Florida Panthers fans had about hopes of a three-peat after Tkachuk went down, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Mammoth fans may not know what the Panthers bring to town. Many of us know they defeated Edmonton (again) for back-to-back Stanley Cups. All Utah fans know this year are back-to-back games. We are not the same. Not yet, anyway.

Utah comes into the game down their #1C for the third straight game, with no updates in sight. Additionally, no news on Alexander Kerfoot returning to play, and no recalls from the AHL roster. Utah’s lineup isn’t a mystery tonight, so Mammoth fans should have an idea of what to expect.

So, what do we have to look forward to in the Panthers?

First, Florida has the least road-weariness of any team in the NHL. Tonight marks just their 11th road game of the year. Now we know where all the schedule favoritism has gone…

The Panthers haven’t performed to their expectations at all this year. Florida sits just 2 points out of the bottom of the east, tied with Ottawa and just ahead of Buffalo for last in the Atlantic and Eastern conference. Granted, they are also just 5 points out of a playoff spot. Man, the East is a weird division this year.

This time last year, Florida was tops in the Atlantic, and top 5 in the league. What gives?

Well, for starters, the Panthers are down key positions and have been for much of the year. Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk are the biggest names out, but some depth role players like Tomas Nosek and Dmitry Kulikov haven’t seen action either. Despite great additions like Brad Marchand, who re-signed in the offseason, the top heavy losses they have in Tkachuk and Barkov have been tough to overcome.

Florida’s struggles don’t just stop at injury, though. Top performing Sams, Reinhart and Bennett are down 9 and 7 points, respectively, from this point in 2024. Their top 10 points producers are almost all negative in the +/- rating stat, compared to last year’s mix and near net 0.

Last year’s team gave up nearly the same amount of goals as this year (91 vs 89) but overall goal production is significantly down. With 87 goals for, the -2 goal differential is way below the +14 of last year. Power play is down close to 10% from 2024. Goals are down more than .6 per game in 2025 in total.

On the road
So far, 10 games in, Florida has been the least tested away from home ice. However, they have not been great away. Just 4-6-0, they have been outscored by 7 goals, Play for them is significantly worse – giving up more than 3.5 a game (up from 3.0 at home) and goal scoring is also down half a goal with just 2.8 goals/g on the road. While they outshoot opponents nearly 32-25 at home, on the road they’re shelled more – averaging a negative 4 shot differential.

Overall, the Cats aren’t good away from their own litterbox, and we hope that trend continues today.

Key points to secure a victory today:
Fraidy Cats With lower shots against, and higher shots for, Utah’s already on a positive path for pressure differential. Utah needs to take advantage of the Cats lower overall offensive output by putting pressure on their defense. Keeping a slower, struggling, Florida team on their heels is a surefire way to keep the score tilted in the Mammoth’s favor.

Vitamin D Deficiency when the Cats aren’t in their own sunshine, they look as old and slow as their age belies. While full of seasoned veterans, a quick Utah team – even without their speed demon leader – completely outclasses Florida when it comes to speed. Utah’s quick 5 on 5 play should force some of the Panthers out of position, drawing penalties. Utah’s power play should be able to utilize this speed by keeping their feet moving.

The Mammoth should far out-draw the Panthers on power play time, while still providing enough size on the back end (with Mammoth in size and name Maveric Lamoureux able to help provide physicality) and a hopeful enforcement by Liam O’Brien to keep a somewhat borderline-dirty team in check.

Russian Connection Daniil But is due for a game, as he’s been a whirling dervish on the ice for his first few. In opposing net, Sergei Bobrovsky. Which of the Russians will come out on top?

Bobrovsky, a world beating champion, doesn’t look like one away from home. He’s posting just a 3.2 GAA and a sub .900 save percentage. Scoring against a fellow Russian superstar could potentially be the motivation But needs to jumpstart his sniping game.

Projected Lineups:
No expected changes from Monday.

TUSKS UP!