The Florida Panthers are set to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, aiming for their third consecutive win and a season sweep over Carolina. The matchup follows back-to-back victories against Ottawa and Buffalo, which came after two road losses to Montreal and Toronto.
Florida holds a 24-18-3 record and is close to securing a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Forward Evan Rodrigues commented on the team’s recent performance: “We’ve played a solid eight periods or so, so just continue to build off that. Don’t get complacent. It’s going to be a dog fight in the East from here until the end of the season. Every point matters, every game matters, and you’ve got to find a way to be ready for each one.”
The Panthers had a brief return home between games and visited the White House on Thursday in recognition of their 2025 Stanley Cup championship.
Recent wins have come despite injuries sidelining Matthew Tkachuk (lower body) and Brad Marchand (undisclosed). Carter Verhaeghe has led Florida with five points over those two games, while Gustav Forsling added three points. A.J. Greer scored twice against Buffalo.
Sergei Bobrovsky will start as goaltender against Carolina, entering with a 19-12-1 record this season and .881 save percentage; he has recorded a .923 save percentage across 34 career appearances versus the Hurricanes.
Cole Schwindt returns from injury after being out since November 17 with a broken arm. Head coach Paul Maurice said about Schwindt’s return: “I thought he got up to speed and he was playing exceptionally well when he got injured. He’s going back in on the first day he feels strong enough to play, and we’re hoping to get him back up to speed again as quickly as we can.”
Earlier today, defenseman Uvis Balinskis signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him with Florida through at least the 2027-28 season. Balinskis has appeared in 138 games for Florida over three seasons, scoring 29 points. Last postseason, he became only the third Latvian-born player whose name appears on the Stanley Cup.
Balinskis reflected: “I didn’t expect any of this at all. I’m grateful it all happened to me. Yeah, it’s good… We have a great group. We have a championship team, and it’s great to be part of this. Everybody makes you better every day.”
Maurice also spoke about Balinskis’ extension: “It’s his personality and his character. That’s what that contract is. He’s worked so hard to get better. He’s handled long stretches out of our lineup, and then come in during the playoffs, and in big games and performed very well. He competes how we’d like our hockey team to compete. It’s great that those guys get rewarded, too.” Rodrigues added: “Just a good human. He’s a good person, good player. He does what’s asked of him and never complains. A guy who can bring a little jam of when he gets in there.”
The Hurricanes lead their division with a 28-15-4 record but are coming off two losses following four straight wins earlier this month.
Sebastian Aho tops Carolina’s scoring chart with 45 points; Andrei Svechnikov follows with 35 points this season.
Goaltending options for Carolina include Brandon Bussi—claimed off waivers from Florida before this season—and Frederik Andersen.
Florida seeks its first regular-season sweep of Carolina since going undefeated against them during the 2021–22 campaign.
Rodrigues discussed tonight’s approach: “Just a good 60 minutes,” he said about closing out the sweep against Carolina.“They play hard, they play fast, so we have to be ready to match that. Don’t try to be too cute. Just play north and try to be on their D (defensemen).”
Additional notes highlight Anton Lundell’s strong faceoff performance since January (winning nearly six out of ten), Sam Bennett tallying four points over his last four outings, Mackie Samoskevich leading Florida in hits since January began, as well as ongoing roster changes due to injuries.