The Montreal Canadiens are the unlucky team that will see the return of several key players for the Florida Panthers tonight. Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, and Radko Gudas have all been cleared to return. It will also be the NHL debut of Anton Levtchi, who came over from the Finnish professional leagues this season.
Montreal not only has to play a much more healthy group but is also on the second half of a back-to-back after losing 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning last night. After an encouraging start, the Canadiens are now 3-6-1 in their last ten and have fallen to last place in the Atlantic Division.
Florida, meanwhile, is only one point ahead of them in the standings, and are on their own three-game losing streak. The 2022 Presidents’ Trophy winners have struggled to produce consistent offense and rank near the bottom of the league in goals against. Sergei Bobrovsky, who will start tonight, is in another one of his bad years, posting a career-low .895 save percentage through 21 appearances.
Ekblad has played just 24 games so far and has been outscored 32-21 when on the ice at even strength. The 26-year-old has been in and out of the lineup with injuries. something that has become a trend in his career.
Barkov, usually considered the team’s most important player, has just 25 appearances on the year, and hasn’t played since exiting a game on December 17 early. The big center has 22 points but just six of those are goals, after scoring a career-high 39 last season (in just 67 games).
Levtchi, 27, signed a one-year, entry-level contract in June to give North American hockey a go, and has scored 13 points in 24 games for the Charlotte Checkers so far. The undrafted forward has developed into a superstar in Finland, scoring 61 points in 55 games last season with Tappara Tampere.
Panthers don’t have the depth to win without Barkov and Ekblad, plus Lundell has missed a lot. Hopefully tonight will start a run to get back to the playoffs.