Panthers face tough start to 2018 schedule
The Florida Panthers face a difficult beginning to the 2018-19 season with 14 of their first 20 games away from home, including two games in Finland as part of the NHL’s Global Series.
The Panthers 25th anniversary season opens at Tampa Bay for the second consecutive year on Oct. 6, the NHL announced Thursday. Their home opener follows on Oct. 11 against Columbus, as revealed Wednesday.
A notable change for this season, Panthers weekday home games will start at 7 p.m., a half-hour earlier than in the past. Fan feedback had indicated a preference for the earlier starting time.
The NHL season begins Oct. 3 with four games, including the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals raising their banner at home against the Boston Bruins.
The schedule features 14 Saturday home games and five Sunday home games. It concludes at home on April 6 against New Jersey.
The Stanley Cup finalist Vegas Golden Knights, led by fired Panthers coach and newly crowned Jack Adams Award winner Gerard Gallant, will visit the BB&T Center on Feb. 2. The champion Capitals make their only trip to Sunrise on April 1.
As has been customary, the Panthers will be home for the holidays, with two games during the week between Christmas and New Year’s: against Montreal (Dec. 28) and Philadelphia (Dec. 29).
During Thanksgiving weekend, they play at Carolina on Friday, Nov. 23, then return to the BB&T Center on Nov. 24 against Chicago to begin a seasonlongest eight-game homestand.
As previously announced, the Panthers will play the Winnipeg Jets in Helsinki on Nov. 1 and 2 in Hartwall Arena.
The two overseas games mark the second time in franchise history the Panthers have played regularseason games in Finland, having opened the 2009-10 season against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The two games against the Jets will be a homecoming of sorts for Panthers star center Aleksander Barkov, who was born in Tampere, about 110 miles away from Helsinki. Highly regarded rookie forward prospect Henrik Borgstrom, who is expected to make the team, was born in Helsinki.
The Panthers will play 28 games within the Atlantic Division with four games (two home and two away) against Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto.
The remainder of the Governor’s Cup series against the Lightning after opening night include another meeting at Amalie Arena on Nov. 21 before the Panthers host their crossstate rival on Dec. 1, and Feb. 10. They were 1-2-1 against Tampa Bay last season.
The Panthers have 24 games against teams from the Metropolitan Division and 30 games (one home and one away) against the Western Conference.
Tickets are available at FloridaPanthers.com/ TicketCentral or by calling 954-835-PUCK (7825). million. That will mean an increase of $4.5 million from last season.
With the acquisition of veteran forward Mike Hoffman on Tuesday, the Panthers currently stand as the NHL team with the highest cap hit, with $71.16 million on the books for next season. Hoffman brings a cap hit of just over $5 million this season.