Predicted Panthers lineup tonight: Florida's projected lineup for preseason game against Carolina Hurricanes | 27th Sept, 2024

On Friday, the Florida Panthers will look to bounce back from their first preseason loss when they face the Carolina Hurricanes on the road. After winning the Stanley Cup last season, the team underwent a roster overhaul this summer, losing several key role players.

They started the preseason campaign with back-to-back wins over the Nashville Predators this past week. With the 2024-25 season rapidly approaching and the Panthers' regular-season opener against the Boston Bruins just over a week away, anticipation is at an all-time high.

Ahead of tonight's preseason game in North Carolina, let's look at the Panthers' projected lines:

Forwards:

L1: AJ Greer - Patrick Giles - Oliver Okuliar

L2: Josh Davies - Rasmus Asplund - Ben Steeves

L3: John Leonard - Zac Dalpe - MacKenzie Entwistle

L4: Kai Schwindt - William Lockwood - Matt Luff

Defense

L1: Tobias Bjornfot - Jaycob Megna

L2: Michael Benning - Zachary Uens

L3: Marek Alcher - Mikulas Hovorka

Goalies

Spencer Knight

Cooper Black

Looking at the Florida Panthers' offseason overhaul and the 2024-25 season ahead as they look to go back-to-back

After capturing the Stanley Cup for the first time in the franchise's history, the Florida Panthers sat as the betting favorites to win the 2024-25 Stanley Cup as well. Then, in the offseason, the team underwent a bit of a roster overhaul, losing a number of key contributors to their cup win.

This offseason, the team lost the following players: Kyle Okposo, Anthony Stolarz, Vladimir Tarasenko, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Brandon Montour, Kevin Stenlund, Nick Cousins, Ryan Lomberg, Josh Mahura and Steven Lorentz.

While the team's core of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe is still intact, losing players like Tarasenko, Ekman-Larsson and Lomberg is hard to understate.

Last season, the team cemented itself as one of the best defensive clubs, which was crucial for the Stanley Cup win. This season, they will have to lean on new additions to fill the gaps left by outgoing players from the Stanley Cup roster.

To make up for the players they lost, GM Bill Zito made a number of offseason acquisitions. This summer, the team acquired AJ Greer, Chris Driedger, Adam Boqvist, Jaycob Megna, Mackenzie Entwistle, Nate Schmidt, Tomas Nosek and Jesper Boqvist.

While Florida once sat atop FanDuel's betting odds for the season ahead, the team is now in second place behind the Edmonton Oilers, the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup.