It’s not fantasy hockey, but the Florida Panthers will again have three of their top players on the same line tonight when they welcome in the Detroit Red Wings. On Tuesday night, coach Paul Maurice put Sasha Barkov with Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart.

Matthew Tkachuk had himself an excitable night with the Florida Panthers on Friday night. Tkachuk spent a good portion of Florida’s 3-2 shootout win against the Penguins off of the ice, officials slapping him with a 2-minute unsportsmanlike penalty as well as a 10-minute misconduct in the second period.

Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett and Evan Rodrigues are among the Panthers players who are on a lengthy stretch without scoring a goal.

FORT LAUDERDALE — Spencer Knight will be back in net for the Florida Panthers when they play host to the Anaheim Ducks at 6 p.m. Knight replaced Sergei Bobrovsky in net during the second period of Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings and did not have much to do,

It was not all that long ago we were talking about Sam Bennett completely obliterating his previous career highs in goals, assists, and points. With 13 goals in his first 25 games, Bennett was on pace to score 43 this season.

Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals (27) and points (51), while Matthew Tkachuk is second in both points (40) and assists (26). Recently named the “Athlete of the Year” in his native Finland, captain Aleksander Barkov ranks third in points (38) and first in assists (27).

Here are Florida’s projected lines and pairings ahead of Saturday’s date with the Ducks:

Winning the Stanley Cup hasn’t been a burden to the Panthers. They’re sitting near the top of the Eastern Conference near the mid-season and having the regular season they wanted.

Ducks coach Greg Cronin liked how his team put 37 shots on goal and won 55.2 percent of the faceoffs. The Ducks also outhit Tampa Bay, 24-12, but were let down by their special teams as the Lightning scored the game's only two power-play goals.

For Jason Carter, one simple sandwich evokes special Christmas memories of his late grandmother, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Instead of reflecting on her numerous social and political accomplishments, Jason chooses to remember Rosalynn as he saw her ...

Thanks to Schenn’s two goals, Kyrou’s goal of his own and Holloway’s pair of assists, the line combined for five points in another important win over Calgary on Thursday night.

The Panthers are a much better team than the Red Wings, and seeing them claw one out in New Jersey on Tuesday night was very encouraging. The Panthers have absolutely owned the Red Wings in recent series history, winning nine out of the last 10 meetings dating back to 2022.