Graphic desing: Francisco Oporta & Todd Little

The Florida Panthers (28-22-3) limp back to Broward to open a key three-game homestand by hosting the Winnipeg Jets (21-25-7) this afternoon at Amerant Bank Arena..

Florida rallied from a two-goal deficit, thanks to a pair of goals from Matthew Tkachuk, before losing a 5-4 heartbreaker to the St. Louis Blues when Jimmy Snuggerud scored a power-play goal with nine seconds left in regulation. In addition to Tkachuk’s first two markers of the season, Sam Reinhart contributed a goal and an assist and A.J. Greer opened the scoring for the Cats, who have dropped two in a row and are now eight points below the playoff cut line.

While the Panthers were getting the blues, the struggling Jets were beaten 4-1 by the Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena. Kyle Connor notched Winnpeg’s only goal midway through the second to pull the visiting Jets within a goal before the Bolts pulled away. Captain Mark Scheifele leads the club in goals (26), assists (38) and points (64).

WHEN: 4 p.m. ET

WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL

ON THE TUBE: Scripps

ON THE DIAL: 104.3 WQAM (D/B), 106.3 ESPN (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)

SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #GoJetsGo, #WPGvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook

ENEMY INTEL: Arctic Ice Hockey

FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 2 (1-0 )

LAST MEETING: FLA 2, @WPG 1 (Recap) – 1/22/2025

NEXT MEETING: 2026-27 season

PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (20-15-1 .874 / 3.08 3SO) Winnipeg: Hellebuyck (13-15-6 .902 / 2.71 0SO)

PLAYER STATS: Florida / Winnipeg

Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)

Colorado (35-8-9 79P) at DETROIT (32-17-6 70P) 1 p.m. (ABC)

MONTREAL (30-17-7 67P) at BUFFALO (31-17-5 67P) 7 p.m.

New Jersey (28-24-2 58P) at OTTAWA (25-21-7 57P) 7 p.m.

TORONTO (24-21-9 57P) at Vancouver (18-31-5 41P) 7 p.m.

Idle: TBL (72P), BOS (67P)