Panthers Host Detroit on Monday Chasing Four Straight: Lundell's Hat Trick and Jones's Record October Set the Table
Florida is 8-4-2, has won six of eight, and swept Winnipeg by a combined 10-3 last week. Detroit walks into Amerant Bank Arena at 7 p.m. against the hottest defenseman in franchise history.
The Florida Panthers open their week at home on Monday night, hosting the Detroit Red Wings at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise at 7 p.m. Eastern, chasing a fourth consecutive win. Florida's form is the story of the matchup: the Panthers are 8-4-2, have won six of their last eight, and spent last week sweeping the Winnipeg Jets twice — 5-1 in Winnipeg on Tuesday and 5-2 at home on Friday.
Friday's win belonged to two men. Anton Lundell, who had scored once all season, produced his first NHL hat trick in his 373rd regular-season appearance, delivering the game's final two goals in the last seven minutes — a rebound tap-in with 6:27 left and an empty-netter with 1:39 remaining — after Sam Reinhart had opened the scoring. Akira Schmid made 22 saves for his third straight win, and Florida's power play finished the two-game sweep 5-for-10.
The month behind them belongs to Seth Jones. The defenseman's goal and two assists on Friday gave him 18 points in October, a franchise record for a Panthers defenseman in a single month, with 17 of those points arriving in a nine-game stretch that began Oct. 12. Jones enters Monday's game as the engine of a team that has already banked two three-game winning streaks this season. Detroit's task is to stop the second one from becoming four.
