FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers will have a rookie lap and celebrate 1,000 games all before playing the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night in Sunrise.
Jack Devine will make his NHL debut tonight, playing Game No. 1 on the same night that defenseman Jeff Petry plays in No. 1,001.
The Panthers will present Petry with his silver stick before the game; Devine will get to take a few solo laps on the ice before the rest of the team joins him for warmups.
“This is something I have been working a long time for,’’ said Devine, who won two national championships at the University of Denver and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist as a senior last season. “Super excited to get my first day going and continue from there.’’
For Devine, getting that call from GM Bill Zito after Charlotte Checkers practice set off a whirlwind of activity.
“I was very excited,” Devine said. “I stayed calm, let some loved ones know. You have to go pack some stuff up, and it’s a quick turnaround, but they did a great job of setting me up.”
Paul Maurice usually meets with players before they make their debut to try and take their minds off such a momentous occasion.
Maurice not only tells the player to enjoy the moment, but to realize what a big deal it is to family, friends, former coaches, anyone who helped pave this road to the NHL.
“I would imagine that the pressure they put on themselves is equal to the size of the milestone,” Maurice said.
“But I don’t want that. Guys look at it as such a big game, a big deal, ‘have to play great tonight.’ It’s really not going to affect the rest of his career. But it is a huge deal, and you want to take it all in. If he gets a hat trick tonight, we’re not signing him to a 10-year deal; if he’s minus-2, we’re not ending his career tomorrow. It’s a small step, but a huge milestone.’’
Mackie Samoskevich made his NHL debut in 2023 and said talking to Maurice helped calm the pregame jitters.
A little bit, anyway.
“Nerves are high with the first one, but enjoy it because you only get one of them,” Samoskevich said. “I remember [Maurice] pulled me aside and said ‘do whatever you want, play your game, enjoy it.’ That’s the only thing that matters and it was big for me. Just to go out, play hockey and play the game you love, when you do that, you’re playing your best.’’
NOTEBOOK: DEVILS AT PANTHERS
The Panthers will be without Eetu Luostarinen after sustaining burns to his legs due to a malfunctioning gas grill. Cole Schwindt is out the next few months after breaking his right arm in a collision with Sergei Bobrovsky on Monday night.
The Panthers will honor Petry for playing in his 1,000th NHL game on Monday. Puck drop is expected to be around 7:15.
Starting Goalies: Bobrovsky is back in net for the Panthers; Jake Allen starts for the Devils with New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe saying Jacob Markstrom is dealing with a minor injury.
How to Watch/Stream: The Panthers are on local television tonight. The game can also be streamed on ESPN+ and Panthers+.
NHL Betting Odds: The Panthers are favorites (-160) on the money line at the local book. To win with the Panthers, a $160 bet pays $100.
ON DECK: GAME No. 20
NEW JERSEY DEVILS at FLORIDA PANTHERS
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (10-8-1) LINES
11 Mackie Samoskevich // 15 Anton Lundell // 63 Brad Marchand
10 A.J. Greer // 17 Evan Rodrigues // 13 Sam Reinhart
23 Carter Verhaeghe // 9 Sam Bennett // 70 Jesper Boqvist
18 Noah Gregor// 71 Luke Kunin // 38 Jack Devine
42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad
77 Niko Mikkola // 3 Seth Jones
26 Uvis Balinskis // 2 Jeff Petry
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
40 Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Donovan Sebrango
Injured: Eetu Luostarinen (lower body), Sasha Barkov (knee), Matthew Tkachuk (lower body), Tomas Nosek (knee), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Cole Schwindt (broken arm)
PROJECTED NEW JERSEY DEVILS (13-5-1) LINES
81 Arseny Gritsysuk // 13 Nico Hischier // 63 Jesper Bratt
28 Timo Meier // 91 Dawson Mercer // 16 Connor Brown
18 Ondrej Palat // 83 Juho Lammikko // 33 Evgenii Dadonov
47 Paul Cotter // 14 Luke Glendening // 11 Stefan Noesen
71 Jonas Siegenthaler // 17 Simon Nemec
5 Brenden Dillon // 43 Luke Hughes
44 Dennis Cholowski // 7 Dougie Hamilton
34 Jake Allen
25 Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Shane Lachance, Colton White, Ethan Edwards
Injured: Jack Hughes (finger), Zack MacEwen (undisclosed), Brett Pesce (hand), Johnathan Kovacevic (lower body), Marc McLaughlin (upper body), Cody Glass (upper body)
