SUNRISE - Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice is giving the NHL’s most anticipated line combination its first real test Monday, starting Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett together when Florida visits the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Arena at 1 p.m.
The trio logged just 1½ real shifts together Saturday before the Panthers fell 4-1 to the Minnesota Wild - a game in which the Tkachuk brothers were pulled from the ice at 11:42 of the third period after both jumped into a scrum and drew roughing penalties. “It brought a little juice,” Maurice told Florida Hockey Now.
Maurice had been cautious about assembling the line since the Panthers acquired Brady Tkachuk from Ottawa in June. The three forwards rank among the most penalized in the NHL, a fact Maurice acknowledged with a quip when training camp opened. “Those three will be in jail before the puck drops,” the coach said. His preference had been to pair Brady Tkachuk with captain Sasha Barkov, but Barkov was injured in the second period of Florida’s second game, forcing Maurice to adjust.
Matthew Tkachuk said the brief time together Saturday was encouraging despite the result. “I think we got 1 1/2 real shifts,” he said. “I thought we had some really good O-zone time on the first shift, drew a penalty. We were in there for a while.”
Maurice acknowledged the line carries storyline weight but framed the decision in broader roster terms. “I know it’s a story,” he said, “but it relates to (all 12 forwards), how it moves the other guys around the bench.” With the Tkachuk-Bennett line in place, Sam Reinhart - who played center in his final Sabres season in 2022 - returns to pivoting his own line with Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Lafferty, while Lars Eller slides back to the fourth line.
Florida holds a 61-48-8 all-time regular-season series lead over Buffalo, with four ties. Monday’s game can be seen locally on Scripps Sports - WSFL 39 in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, WPTV 5 and WHDT 9 in West Palm Beach, and LAFF 36.3 in Southwest Florida, with radio coverage on WQAM and WBZT 1230-AM in Palm Beach. The Panthers’ next scheduled visit to Buffalo is March 20, with home dates against the Sabres set for Nov. 21 and Dec. 30. Florida travels to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m.