FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers will welcome back a number of familiar faces tonight against the Utah Mammoth while also celebrating a nice milestone.
A.J. Greer will play in his 300th NHL game tonight.
And it is Star Wars Night as well.
“It reminds you of all the hard work and all the sacrifices you’ve put in,’’ Greer said after Tuesday’s morning skate.
“It’s an honor to be able to play 300 games in this league and chase even more. It’s an important milestone. It keeps you grounded and makes you appreciate all the things that you do.”
The Panthers will honor Nate Schmidt and Vitek Vanecek tonight during the first period.
Both players were part of last year’s Stanley Cup championship.
Utah also has 2024 Cup champ Kevin Stenlund as well as former Florida prospect Lawson Crouse, who was the Panthers’ first-round pick during the 2015 draft held in Sunrise.
“The last time they played here were a lot of good memories for them,’’ coach Andre Tourigny said of Schmidt and Vanecek. “They are a big part of our team here, we are really happy to have them. But I am sure there will be a lot of emotion tonight.’’
NOTES: MAMMOTH at PANTHERS
Florida captain Sasha Barkov was back on the ice for a workout Tuesday morning.
With nine wins in January, Utah is tied for the second-most in the NHL; its 19 points is tied for third.
The Mammoth is finishing its eighth of 11 back-to-backs tonight. Utah is 2-4-1 record in the second game of a back-to-back set this season.
Starting Goalies: Sergei Bobrovsky is back for the Panthers after getting the win Saturday in Minnesota. Vanecek is expected to start for the Mammoth.
How to Watch/Stream: The Panthers are on local television tonight. To stream, use Panthers+ locally or ESPN+ nationally.
NHL Betting Odds: The Panthers are favored (-150) on the money line at the local book. To win with Florida, a $150 bet wins $100.
ON DECK: GAME No. 52
UTAH MAMMOTH at FLORIDA PANTHERS
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (28-20-3) LINES
23 Carter Verhaeghe // 17 Evan Rodrigues // 13 Sam Reinhart
95 Sandis Vilmanis // 9 Sam Bennett // 19 Matthew Tkachuk
27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 63 Brad Marchand
10 A.J. Greer // 79 Cole Schwindt // 11 Mackie Samoskevich
42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad
77 Niko Mikkola // 26 Uvis Balinskis
22 Toby Bjornfot // 2 Jeff Petry
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
40 Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Donovan Sebrango, Jesper Boqvist, Luke Kunin
Injured: Seth Jones (collarbone), Sasha Barkov (knee), Tomas Nosek (knee), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)
PROJECTED UTAH MAMMOTH (27-21-4) LINES
9 Clayton Keller // 8 Nick Schmaltz // 67 Lawson Crouse
77 JJ Peterka // 27 Barrett Hayton // 19 Daniil But
53 Michael Carcone // 22 Jack McBain // 11 Dylan Guenther
13 Brandon Tanev // 82 Kevin Stenlund // 38 Liam O’Brien
98 Mikhail Sergachev // 50 Sean Durzi
88 Nate Schmidt // 6 John Marino
28 Ian Cole // 57 Nick DeSimone
41 Vitek Vanecek
70 Karel Vejmelka
Scratched: Olli Maatta, Kailer Yamamoto, Kevin Rooney
Injured: Logan Cooley (lower body), Alexander Kerfoot (upper body)
