Panthers at Oilers
The Florida Panthers have a tall task ahead of them if they hope to qualify for the postseason, and it begins Monday as they kick off a five-game trip through Canada with a matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. Florida is nine points back in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 30 games remaining.
The Panthers, who have captured two straight on the road, had their four-game overall winning streak halted when they dropped a 3-1 home decision to Los Angeles on Friday. Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team with 51 points and is eight away from matching the career high he set in 2015-16 but has been kept off the scoresheet in each of his last two contests. Edmonton is making a brief stop at home following an 0-3-0 California trip and heads back out for another three-game trek after Monday's matchup. Captain Connor McDavid failed to notch a point in Saturday's 6-4 setback in San Jose after collecting seven goals and four assists during a five-game streak.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Florida, Sportsnet West (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (23-23-6): Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov share the team lead of 18 goals, with the former closing in on his second career 20-tally season and the latter two each on the verge of their third in a row. James Reimer could get the start in net against Edmonton after dressing on Friday for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury on Jan. 23 versus Dallas. Florida has engaged in a league-leading 31 fights this season, its highest total since 2011-12, with Micheal Haley dropping the gloves an NHL-most 14 times.
ABOUT THE OILERS (23-27-4): McDavid, who tops the club in both goals (22) and points (64), has not been blanked in consecutive contests since a season-high three-game stretch from Dec. 29-Jan. 2. The 21-year-old reigning Hart and Art Ross Trophy winner has registered eight tallies and 11 assists over his last 14 contests. Zack Kassian tallied twice on Saturday and has scored three of his six goals on the season in his last five games.
OVERTIME
1. Panthers LW Jamie McGinn's next point will be the 200th of his career.
2. Edmonton C Leon Draisaitl has collected five goals and 11 assists over his 13 contests, being kept off the scoresheet only three times in that span.
3. Florida RW Evgenii Dadonov is expected to appear in his 100th NHL game on Monday.