Panthers’ Boyle set to debut vs. Pens

Brian Boyle took the ice for practice with the Panthers for the first time Monday, one day after the well-traveled center signed a one-year, $940,000 deal with the club.

The plan is for the 6-foot-6 Boyle to debut Tuesday when the Panthers host the Penguins.

Boyle was not at training camp with any team as he awaited an offer.

“It obviously didn’t go as I expected,” Boyle said. “In an ideal world, I wanted to be in camp, signed up, family taken care of, kids in school, but it doesn’t work out the way you think it’s supposed to or the way it should. It was a bit of a curveball.”

If anyone knows how to deal with a curveball, it’s Boyle.

Having beaten leukemia — he was diagnosed in 2017 — and with his young son healthy now after dealing with severe medical problems as well, Boyle has gone through plenty in recent years. But now, two months shy of turning 35 and with the Panthers about to become his seventh NHL club, Boyle is ready to resume his quest of getting his hands on the Stanley Cup.

“This is a great opportunity,” Boyle said. “This checks so many boxes. Ultimately, I’ve been around, I’ve played a lot of games, I’ve played in playoff games. I really just want to win. That’s really all that’s left to do.”

Panthers coach Joel Quenneville cited Boyle’s “experience, character, size, center, faceoffs ... we can use him in a lot of different situations. He’s played a lot of playoff games, meaningful games, big games, something that we want to get to.”

The Panthers are a 3-2-3 start. off to

One-timers: Injured forwards Evgeni Malkin and Alex Galchenyuk will not travel with the Penguins on their upcoming threegame trip, coach Mike Sullivan said. Malkin has missed seven games and Galchenyuk six, both with lower-body injuries . ... The Predators signed center Philip Tomasino to a three-year entry-level contract. Tomasino, 18, was drafted 24th overall this year . ... The Ducks suffered their first home loss, falling to the Flames 2-1 late Sunday night.