FORT LAUDERDALE — Neither the Florida Panthers nor Minnesota Wild have much to play for tonight.
The Panthers, obviously, are playing out the string. Twelve games left before the first long offseason since 2019.
Minnesota, meanwhile, is set for a first-round matchup with the Dallas Stars.
The Wild are in third place in the Central Division, five points behind Dallas and 12 ahead of fourth-place Utah.
So, Minnesota knows who it will see come April.
For the Panthers, who will bring out the same lineup they did Tuesday against Seattle, playing at home at least gives them a little motivation.
“We’re a mature team and know the situation we are in,’’ Seth Jones said. “We want to try and keep the good habits throughout the rest of the season and win games, especially in front of our fans.
“These home games are important to put out a good product for them and give them some entertainment. We’re trying to play hard in here, whoever is playing and in the lineup. It’s next-man up mentality.’’
NOTES: WILD at PANTHERS
Marcus and Nick Foligno will play together for the first time tonight. Marcus had been dealing with a lower-body injury that kept him out since late February. The Wild traded for Nick at the deadline.
Former Panthers defenseman Jeff Petry will play in his second game for the Wild tonight after being traded to Minnesota at the deadline.
Nico Sturm, part of Florida’s 2025 Stanley Cup championship team, will not play tonight.
The Panthers are celebrating 90s Night at the arena. Fans will get a special mini pennant upon entry and Grammy Award winner Treach from Naughty by Nature will perform during the first intermission.
Starting Goalies: The Panthers will have Daniil Tarasov back in net tonight. Minnesota will start Jesper Wallstedt.
How to Watch/Stream: The Panthers are on national TV tonight which means no Channel 39 (Jessica Blaylock and Ed Jovanovski will have a pregame show at 6:30, however). The game will be on ESPN and thereby streamed on ESPN+ and Disney+. No Panthers+ streaming for this one.
NHL Betting Odds: The local book has the Wild favored tonight at -150 on the money line. If you want to bet the Panthers, a $100 bet wins $130.
ON DECK: GAME No. 71
MINNESOTA WILD at FLORIDA PANTHERS
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
National TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+, Disney+
Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
Local Betting Odds — Wild Favored: MoneyLine (-150); Puck Line -1.5 (+140); O/U 6.5 (+105/-130)
Last Season: Tied 1-1
This Season (Panthers Lead 1-0) — At Minnesota: Panthers 4, Wild 3 OT (Jan. 24). At Florida: March 26.
All-time Regular Season Series: Minnesota leads 21-11-3, 1 tie
Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday at New York Islanders, 1 p.m.
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (35-32-3) LINES
23 Carter Verhaeghe // 9 Sam Bennett // 19 Matthew Tkachuk
27 Eetu Luostarinen // 17 Evan Rodrigues // 70 Jesper Boqvist
29 Cole Reinhardt // 92 Tomas Nosek // 24 Vinnie Hinstroza
25 Nolan Foote // 71 Luke Kunin // 18 Noah Gregor
42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad
7 Dmitry Kulikov // 3 Seth Jones
6 Donovan Sebrango // 20 Mike Benning
40 Daniil Tarasov
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratched: None
Injured: Sam Reinhart (foot), Niko Mikkola (knee), Mackie Samoskevich (neck laceration), Anton Lundell (upper body), Cole Schwindt (lower body), Uvis Balinskis (fractured foot), Brad Marchand (lower body), Sasha Barkov (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)
PROJECTED MINNESOTA WILD (40-20-12) LINES
97 Kirill Kaprizov // 38 Ryan Hartman // 36 Mats Zuccarello
90 Marcus Johansson // 14 Joel Eriksson Ek // 12 Matt Boldy
91 Vladimir Tarasenko // 47 Michael McCarron // 10 Bobby Brink
17 Marcus Foligno // 71 Nick Foligno // 13 Yakov Trenin
43 Quinn Hughes // 46 Jared Spurgeon
25 Jonas Brodin // 7 Brock Faber
5 Jake Middleton // 2 Jeff Petry
30 Jesper Wallstedt
32 Filip Gustavsson
Scratched: Daemon Hunt, Danila Yurov, Zach Bogosian, Hunter Haight, Robby Fabbri, Nico Sturm
Injured: None
