Five Standout Players from Panthers Two Split Squad wins over Predators

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers returned to Sunrise on Monday afternoon for their first set of preseason games, taking on the Nashville Predators in a split squad doubleheader.

 

In the first matchup of the day, Florida comfortably took down Nashville, winning 5-0 off multi-goal performances from both Eetu Luostarinen and Mackie Samoskevich.

 

The last game on the schedule was another good result for the Panthers, with the second group matching the first’s goal total in a 5-2 win. Newly reacquired Panther Dmitry Kulikov was the first star of the game for the second group with two goals and an assist.

 

Here’s five players who were worthy of a mention from the two split squad games.

 

Mackie Samoskevich

The man that many Panthers fans will have a close eye on this preseason is 2021-first-round pick Mackie Samoskevich.

 

Samoskevich made his NHL preseason debut in the first game of the day — playing on a line with Panther’s regulars Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. 

 

“Having the first game out there is pretty special,” Samoskevich said. “”It was a fun one for sure, I had a blast out there.” 

 

The 20-year-old looked more than in place in his first game against NHL competition, finishing the game with two goals and an assist.

 

Going from college to the AHL and now the NHL preseason in just a matter of months takes some adjusting, but Samoskevich didn’t let the transition affect him too much.

 

“The building is pretty big so it kind of gets to your head a little bit, but I loved it,” Samoskevich said. “I’m not one to get too nervous, I like to stay pretty before the game so it wasn’t too bad.”

 

Samoskevich has a legit shot to make this team, and tonight’s showing was a step in the right direction.

 

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

OEL comes to South Florida with 902 NHL games under his belt. The Panthers brought in the two-time All-Star this offseason to bolster up a blueline that will be missing Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Mountour — two of their top three defenseman — for the first few months of the season. 

 

Ekman-Larsson paired up with his fellow countryman Gustav Forsling on the top unit in group 1’s 5-0 win. He finished the game with three assists, in 20:58 of ice time. 

 

During preseason you’ll see a lot of guys get ice time on special teams, even if they wouldn’t necessarily be a first or second option during the regular season.

 

Ekman-Larsson on the other hand could definitely eat up special teams minutes during the year and he was given the opportunity Monday night, playing on both the penalty kill and power play.

 

Last season when he was with Vancouver, Ekman-Larsson suffered an ankle injury in mid February, which would ultimately end his season. Monday night was the first game the 32-year-old has played in since Feb. 15.

 

Paul Maurice said after the split squad games that you’ll see less NHL players over the next few preseason matchups as they’ll be evaluating which bubble players make the final roster. 

 

“I mean, I think I don’t need to see Forsling right,” Maurice said when talking about the future exhibition games.  

 

It’s a shoo-in that Ekman-Larsson will be on the opening night roster, but he may get a few more exhibition games compared to the other NHL guys since he is returning from an injury.

 

“Ekman-Larsson, we’ll have lots of discussion because he hasn’t played for a while, he missed a bunch of games and he likes to play them to get into his rhythm,” Maurice said postgame “Priority one here is to get your NHL guys ready, that’s the first thing we have to do.”

 

Eetu Luostarinen 

The Panthers really missed Eetu Luostarinen in last year’s Stanley Cup Final. The 25-year-old Finn can play anywhere in the lineup — on the wing or down the middle — and special teams. 

 

In his first game back since getting injured in the Eastern Conference Finals, Luostarinen didn’t miss a beat — scoring twice for the Panthers.

 

“It was fun,” Luostarinen said after the game. “I felt 100 percent so that’s a good thing.”

 

Luostarinen was a regular and important player for the Panthers last year, so a bad showing in the preseason wouldn’t have been the end of the world. Nonetheless his first competitive action since breaking his tibia in May was positive. 

 

Luostarinen signed a three-year extension earlier this summer — keeping him under contract through the 2026-2027 season. 

 

Spencer Knight 

The last time Spencer Knight played in an NHL game was Feb. 18 against Nashville. He left the team later that month to enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. 

 

Now back with the team, he started his first game in over seven months today with the first group. 

 

There wasn’t a whole lot for Knight to do in the 29 minutes he played tonight, but he still shut the door, stopping all 13 shots he faced.

 

“It was a good game, good to get back into game action,” Knight said. “I think after a while the practices get kind of repetitive and you need to play the game.”

 

Knight came out with his story a few weeks ago in an interview with Ken Campbell of The Hockey News — where he talked about enrolling in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program for help in dealing with an ongoing case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

 

“It’s been good, you know there’s nothing to hide and I think I’ll become a better person and player from it,” Knight said when asked about coming forward with his story. “Hopefully there’s someone out there, they read my story and hopefully it helps them too.”

 

Ever since he returned to the organization in July to take part in development camp, Knight has been showered with love from Panthers fans, which was once again the case on Monday night. 

 

“It’s great… The fans have always been so supportive, so passionate, everytime I interact with them they’re just awesome.” 

 

Sam Bennett 

Florida had most of their NHL regulars in the lineup across the two games today, and their NO. 2 center was a big part of the second victory today. 

 

“It was good to be back out there and play in a real game-like situation, ” Bennett said. 

 

Sam Bennett had a goal and two assists in the second group’s 5-2 win — centering Matthew Tkachuk and Nick Cousins. Panthers’ head coach Paul Maurice gave this line combination another go after their success together in last season’s playoffs. 

 

“I think it’s almost a little bit of a benefit of playing so long into June that you don’t lose the feel and you still have that chemistry,” Bennett said about playing with Tkachuk and Cousins. “Definitely looking forward to starting the season with those two.”

 

Bennett’s linemates also got on the board, with Cousins picking up two assists and Tkachuk with one. 

 

“Those two make it so easy for me,” Cousins said about Tkachuk and Bennett. “I thought chemistry was back tonight and probably just keep that going.”