Florida opens its season in Raleigh with a heavy top six on the board and a pair of notable injury absences. The Panthers visit the Carolina Hurricanes at 5 p.m. ET, with ESPN carrying the matchup.
Projected Panthers lineup
Florida has Brady Tkachuk alongside captain Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart on its first line. Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk form the next unit.
- Brady Tkachuk — Aleksander Barkov — Sam Reinhart
- Carter Verhaeghe — Sam Bennett — Matthew Tkachuk
- Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Sandis Vilmanis
- Bokondji Imama — Lars Eller — Garnet Hathaway
- Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
- Niko Mikkola — Seth Jones
- Dmitry Kulikov — Radko Gudas
Jacob Markstrom is listed first in the Panthers crease, followed by Akira Schmid. Defenseman Uvis Balinskis is the projected healthy scratch.
Projected Hurricanes lineup
Carolina’s top line has Andrei Svechnikov with Sebastian Aho and Eric Robinson. Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake are set to skate together behind them, while Nikolaj Ehlers joins Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook on the third line.
- Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Eric Robinson
- Taylor Hall — Logan Stankoven — Jackson Blake
- Nikolaj Ehlers — Jordan Staal — Jordan Martinook
- Nicolas Deslauriers — Mark Jankowski — William Carrier
- Jaccob Slavin — Jalen Chatfield
- K’Andre Miller — Sean Walker
- Shayne Gostisbehere — Charles Alexis Legault
Brandon Bussi is listed ahead of Pyotr Kochetkov in the Hurricanes’ goaltending group. Carolina’s projected scratches are forwards Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Cayden Primeau, plus defenseman Mike Reilly.
Injury timeline
- Panthers forward Brad Marchand underwent surgery in August. He remained on the ice through training camp, but Florida expects him to miss the opening month of the season with a lower-body injury.
- Florida forward Jonah Gadjovich also had surgery and is sidelined indefinitely with an upper-body injury.
- Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis continues to recover from shoulder surgery performed in June. He skated during Carolina’s camp, though a return is not anticipated before late October.
The early-season test puts Florida’s reshaped forward group against a Carolina club that will begin without Jarvis but still rolls Aho, Svechnikov, Hall, Ehlers and Staal through its top nine.
