One of the biggest challenges of the season awaits the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.
Fresh off an exhilarating, last-minute victory over the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday, the Panthers will complete a back-to-back set when they face off against the NHL-best Colorado Avalanche.
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Florida will be searching for a season-high fourth straight victory and are attempting to turn a corner toward positivity following a tough start to their season.
That’s not terribly surprising considering the injury issues that Florida has had to endure.
The Panthers just got forward Eetu Luostarinen back in the lineup over the past week but have still yet to see Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk or Tomas Nosek this season and have lost Dmitry Kulikov, Jonah Gadjovich and Cole Schwindt to in-season injuries they have yet to return from.
Still, despite all that, the Cats are giving off some strong vibes lately, picking up wins over the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders and Mammoth over the past few days.
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Now, though, Florida will face a team in the Avalanche who have lost just twice in regulation all season.
Colorado is an eye-popping 21-2-7, with their 49 points keeping them perched high atop the rest of the NHL.
To put that into perspective, no team in the Eastern Conference has even cracked 40 points yet.
As for the Panthers, their recent surge has moved them past Toronto, Columbus and the Ottawa Senators in the standings.
Entering play Thursday, Florida still remains three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the final Wild Card spot and four points back of the Boston Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division.
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With so much of the season still in front of them, the Panthers have plenty of time to climb back into a playoff spot.
A good showing against Colorado and a strong showing on their road trip will go a long way toward continuing that mission as Florida moves closer to the holidays.
Goaltending-wise, the Cats are expected to roll with Daniil Tarasov against the Avs after Sergei Bobrovsky played stellar while picking up the win over Utah the night before.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Thursday’s tilt with the Avalanche:
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
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Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – A.J. Greer
Noah Gregor – Jack Stucnicka – Jesper Boqvist
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
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Photo caption: Dec 10, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; The Florida Panthers celebrate a win over the Utah Mammoth after the game at Delta Center. (Rob Gray-Imagn Images)
