The Florida Panthers rediscovered their winning ways at the end of a six-game homestand they completed over the weekend.
Now, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions face the challenge of building upon that as they start a four-game road trip Wednesday in Salt Lake City against the Utah Mammoth.
After losing the first three games in regulation and the fourth in overtime, the Panthers finished the homestand with victories on back-to-back days against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday and New York Islanders on Sunday.
Carter Verhaeghe scored twice against Columbus and once versus the Islanders. The forward has four goals in his last three games since his first child was born, which caused Verhaeghe to miss the Dec. 2 home game against Toronto.
The weekend also brought the return of forward Eetu Luostarinen, who missed eight games as he recovered from burns sustained in a grilling mishap.
Having both players back on the ice has provided a much-needed spark, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after Sunday’s victory, especially since the team remains without top forwards Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, neither of whom has played a game this season.
“When you miss two of your top six when you’ve already got two of your top six out, this makes a huge difference in how we look,” Maurice said. “Getting those guys back, we’re more confident now. Going to be a really tough road trip, but we’re playing as well as we’ve played in quite a while.”
Daniil Tarasov stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced Sunday. He could start Wednesday in Utah as the Panthers will play at the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. That move would likely allow Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida’s No. 1 netminder, to face the NHL’s top team.
With the Blue Jackets last season, Tarasov stopped 32 shots to help Columbus earn a 3-2 overtime victory in Utah on Jan. 31.
The Panthers will be the second of three straight home games for the Mammoth, who fell 4-2 to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
That was not the biggest blow the Mammoth suffered that day, as the team reported prior to the loss that Logan Cooley, who leads Utah with 14 goals, will be out indefinitely due to a lower-body injury. The 21-year-old center ranks third on the team with 23 points.
Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny was philosophical after Monday’s loss about how the team needs to step up in Cooley’s absence.
“If you play the way you should play, which is at your full potential, you won’t raise anything,” he said. “You will just be the best version of yourself. … There’s no other Logan Cooley on our team, so there’s nobody who can be a Logan Cooley for the next little while. It’s not the way it is. Everybody has to be themselves, but the best version of themselves.”
Clayton Keller, who has 28 points to lead the Mammoth, notched his 10th goal and an assist to give him points in four of his last five games.
Karel Vejmelka made 23 saves but saw his two-game winning streak end Monday. The Czech goalie is 1-5-1 in seven career games against the Panthers, with a .912 save percentage and a 3.31 GAA.
