The Florida Panthers were outmatched during their preseason debut on Sunday.
That was to be expected.
The Panthers letting their veteran players take the first week of training camp to focus on individual work, a way to lighten their load ahead of what they hope is a fourth consecutive extended season after three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final and back-to-back championships.
With that, the Panthers sent a roster heavy with prospects and players in camp on tryouts to Nashville for their preseason doubleheader against the Predators.
The inexperience was on display, with Florida dropping both games. They lost 5-0 in Game 1 and 5-3 in Game 2.
That said, there were some individual performances worth noting. Here are five of them.
Mike Benning: The 23-year-old played on the Panthers’ top defense pairing with Tobias Bjornfot in the nightcap and scored a pair of third-period goals in the game. His first came when cleaned up a rebound in the opening minute in the final frame to cut Florida’s deficit to 4-2. Benning then got the Panthers within a goal with 13:21 left in regulation on a slap shot from the right circle. Benning also had two blocked shots.
Benning had 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in the regular season at AHL Charlotte and then added another five goals during the Checkers’ run to the Calder Cup Finals.
Daniil Tarasov: Tarasov, slated to be Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup this season after being acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, stopped 15 of 18 shots in a little more than 30 minutes of action in the nightcap Sunday. Two of the three goals he surrendered came on the power play to a pair of elite NHL players in Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg. The third came on a redirect in front of the net by Cole Smith after Tarasov stopped the first 10 shots he faced. He made a few stellar stops, including a pair on Forsberg — a pad save as Forsberg skated across the front of the goalie crease midway through the first and a glove save after a pretty passing sequence.
As for the other three goalies who played on Sunday: Brandon Bussi stopped 16 of 18 shots in 31 minutes as the Game 1 starter, Kiril Gerasimyuk allowed three goals on just seven shots against in relief of Bussi, and Cooper Black stopped 11 of 12 in the 28:29 of the second game.
Brett Chorske: After Florida was shut out in the opener, Chorske scored Florida’s first goal on Sunday, picking up a pass that he banked off the end board and firing a shot past Nashville goaltender Jusse Saros in the first period of the nightcap. The 24-year-old forward is entering his first full pro season after playing four seasons of college hockey, first at Colorado College and then at Colgate.
Gracyn Sawchyn: The 20-year-old led Panthers forwards in ice time in Game 1 (18:20) while centering the group’s top line that had Wilmer Skoog and Anton Lundmark on the wings. Sawchyn is heading into his first pro season coming off a stellar final junior season in the Western Hockey League that saw him log 78 points (30 goals, 48 assists) for the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Noah Gregor: The 27-year-old forward is in Panthers camp on a professional tryout. He had an assist on Benning’s first goal and had a team-high five shots on goal.
The rest of the Panthers’ preseason schedule
The Panthers play five more preseason games — three on the road, two at home — before opening the 2025-26 season against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 7 at Amerant Bank Arena.
All five of the remaining exhibition games will be televised on Scripps Sports. The schedule is as follows:
Wednesday at Carolina Hurricanes, 6 p.m.
Sept. 29 home vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 6 p.m.
Sept. 30 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning in Orlando, 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 home vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.