Saturday afternoon promises to be an emotional day in Sunrise as the Calgary Flames visit the Florida Panthers.
Calgary’s lineup features three former Panthers players — forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Ryan Lomberg and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.
Lomberg was part of Florida’s team that won the 2024 Stanley Cup. Huberdeau was one of the biggest stars in Panthers history, scoring 198 goals and dishing 415 assists in 10 seasons. And Weegar produced 121 points in six years with the Panthers.
On the other side, Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk collected 152 goals and 230 assists in six seasons with Calgary before arriving in Florida in time to help his new team win the Stanley Cup.
Tkachuk, though, has missed three straight games due to a lower-body injury. He is not expected to play on Saturday.
Fortunately for the Panthers, they have center Anton Lundell, an emerging star at age 23.
Lundell, who was Florida’s first-round pick (12th overall) in 2020, posted a season-high three points on Thursday in the Panthers’ 3-2 home win over the Edmonton Oilers.
“He can take over and dominate a game,” Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt said of Lundell. “As a young player, he is just getting better. It’s fun to watch his progression as a young kid growing into a man in this league.”
Schmidt and Uvis Balinskis — Florida’s third-defense pairing — each scored a goal on Thursday. There’s apparently a good rapport between the two of them.
“When I was younger, a vet once told me that a defense pairing is like a marriage,” Schmidt said. “If we don’t talk, there are going to be problems.”
Florida’s top defense pairing is Aaron Ekblad (29 points) and Gustav Forsling (22 points).
Among Florida’s forwards, Sam Reinhart leads the team in goals (31) and points (64). Captain Aleksander Barkov tops the Panthers with 40 assists.
Meanwhile, Calgary is coming off a 3-0 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Weegar, like many Calgary players interviewed after the loss, said he thought his Flames played well overall. However, he said, “I’d like to find a little bit of offense, contribute. We’ve got to help our forwards with the scoring.”
For the season, Nazem Kadri and Huberdeau lead the Flames in points (43). Huberdeau also leads Calgary in goals (22), and Weegar tops the Flames in assists (26).
Following the loss to Tampa Bay, Flames defenseman Joel Hanley asked for more balance on offense. For example, Huberdeau had five shots on goal on Thursday and Kadri had four, but the rest of the team combined for just 18.
“Other guys have to get themselves involved offensively,” Hanley said. “Somebody has to step up and generate. You can’t ask (Huberdeau and Kadri) to do everything. Other guys have to have a little more jump.”
The Flames, who are 11-12-4 on the road, have started 1-1-0 on their current six-game trip, and that includes an impressive 3-1 win at Washington on Tuesday.
“It’s a hard road trip,” Hanley said. “We have a lot to prove.”
Added Flames winger Blake Coleman: “I think we’re still confident. We felt good about our process (on Thursday), and if we do that again in our next game we will be alright.”
