The Florida Panthers didn’t need long to show a different wrinkle on the power play in their preseason win over Carolina. On the first man advantage of the night, the setup looked familiar in most spots, but one new piece changed the feel of the whole unit.
Sasha Barkov lined up on the right side, Seth Jones handled the point, Matthew Tkachuk worked netfront, and Sam Reinhart stayed in his usual bumper role between the circles. The left side, though, belonged to Brady Tkachuk, giving assistant coach Jamie Kompon’s top unit a new look.
“It’s a little bit different than most power plays because we don’t have that right-handed shot on the back door, and that’s fine,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “It can be very effective with a lefty.
It’s almost a certain style of player that you need over there. Brady has got some hands, he can make some plays, he also…for us, puck recovery is really important.
Yeah, that could be good.”
The results came fast. Florida needed just 38 seconds to score on that first power play, turning a loose puck and a quick sequence around Carolina’s net into a goal.
Reinhart tracked down the puck in the corner and nudged it to Barkov, who made a sharp play at the side of the Hurricanes’ net. Barkov slipped a between-the-legs backhand pass across the crease to Matthew Tkachuk, who faked the shot and instead sent the puck back across the zone to Brady Tkachuk at the top of the left circle. Brady Tkachuk wound up and snapped home a wrist shot to finish the sequence.
After the game, Brady Tkachuk kept the message simple.
“I think with us, you just can’t overcomplicate,” Brady Tkachuk said after the game. “I think today, we hadn’t had much practice time, so I think being simple is going to be our best friend. Sometimes you get carried away with that extra pass and trying to find it, but for us, just be simple, take advantage of what they give us, and we’ll see what the limit is there.”
The Panthers also got a look at their second unit. That group featured Carter Verhaeghe on the left side, Eetu Luostarinen on the right, Anton Lundell down low, Sam Bennett in the bumper spot and Aaron Ekblad at the point.
Florida finished 1-for-4 on the power play and put eight shots on goal on those chances.
There should be at least a little more time for the special teams to keep taking shape before Opening Night. Maurice said there could be one or two more preseason games with a more veteran lineup, and he also noted the team will have a stretch before the season starts that he’ll treat like the time between playoff series, using it for recovery, film study and special teams work.
For now, the Panthers are heading on the road for preseason games in Raleigh against the Hurricanes on Tuesday and in Tampa against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. They’ll return home to close the preseason Saturday night against Tampa, then wait four days before opening the regular season in Carolina.
In Other News...
Brady Tkachuks Florida Arrival Looks Bigger Than A Normal Blockbuster
Brady Tkachuks move to South Florida already had the feel of a headline-grabber when it happened in June, with the Ottawa Senators sending him to the Panthers for draft picks after he requested a trade himself. For Florida, the fit goes beyond the usual blockbuster logic, because it brings another star into a lineup built to chase the top of the league and deepens a family connection that has hovered around the story from the start.
Ottawa owner Michael Andlauer said the push was shaped by Tkachuks desire to play with his brother Matthew in Florida, with Keith and Matthew both part of that pull. Even with the rumors that surrounded the situation, Andlauer said Senators fans continued to support Tkachuk, which gives the departure a more complicated edge than a simple split between player and club. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Have A Tough Fourth-Line Decision To Make
The Panthers are getting close to sorting out their 2026-27 opening night roster, and most of the lineup already looks settled. The real questions are down in the fourth-line mix and among the scratches, where a handful of players are still trying to separate themselves before the team has to make decisions.
Cole Reinhardt has pushed his way into that conversation after a strong preseason showing, giving Florida another option to consider as the roster nears completion. With fewer exhibition games available under the new NHL regulations, there is less time than usual for fringe players to make their case, which makes these final spots feel even tighter for a team that already has most of its pieces in place. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk's Florida Arrival Still Has Ottawa Stirred Up
Ottawa is still sorting through what Brady Tkachuk meant to the franchise, and owner Michael Andlauer made clear this week that the captains exit was about more than hockey. Andlauer praised Tkachuk for the way he led the Senators and represented the organization in the community, even as the questions around his departure kept circling back to Florida and the pull it had on him.
Andlauer also pushed back on the idea that Tkachuks move might spark a larger wave of American players looking elsewhere, calling that talk overhyped. For Ottawa, the bigger issue is trying to steady the room after losing a centerpiece player, while the Panthers keep benefitting from the kind of addition that can shift the tone of a team long before the first puck drops. [Read more 🡒]