FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers will see a familiar face in net for the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in Sunrise.
Brandon Bussi may have spent training camp and most of the preseason with the Panthers after signing with the team during the offseason.
Only when the Panthers tried to slip him through waivers to become the starter for AHL Charlotte after deciding to keep Daniil Tarasov, the Hurricanes jumped in and claimed him.
Bussi has been absolutely a terrific pickup by the Hurricanes.
The 27-year-old is in his first NHL season but too old to be considered a rookie. Still, he is the first goalie in history to win 11 of his first 12 starts.
Bussi has not lost since October.
“He had a really, really good camp,” Paul Maurice said. “Between him and Daniil, our goalie department does a really good job of identifying these guys. That’s why the waiver rules are there, right? That’s what it’s all about. We were deep at that position, Carolina had an injury. This guy is a good player. He has been great.”
NOTEBOOK: HURRICANES AT PANTHERS
- Maurice said Matthew Tkachuk is “on track’’ to rejoin the Panthers although he did not know when, exactly, that will be.
- Eetu Luostarinen will play in his 400th NHL game tonight. The Panthers originally got Luostarinen from the Hurricanes in the Vincent Trocheck trade in 2020.
- Evan Rodrigues left Wednesday’s win against the Kings in the third period with a lower-body injury but skated Friday and will play tonight.
- Starting Goalies: Sergei Bobrovsky is back for the Panthers and will take on Bussi.
- How to Watch/Stream: The Panthers are on local TV tonight. The game can be streamed at Panthers+ and ESPN+.
- NHL Betting Odds: The Hurricanes are favorites (-130) on the money line at the local book. To win with Carolina, a $130 bet pays $100. If you like the Panthers, they are at +110 — so a $100 bet nets $110.
ON DECK: GAME No. 34
CAROLINA HURRICANES at FLORIDA PANTHERS
- When: Friday, 7 p.m.
- Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
- Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
- Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
- Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
- Local Betting Odds — Hurricanes Favored: MoneyLine (-130); Puck Line -1.5 (+175); O/U 5.5 (-130/+105)
- Series Schedule — At Panthers: Friday. At Carolina: Tuesday; Jan. 16
- Last Regular Season: Panthers Won 2-1
- All-Time Regular Season Series: Carolina/Hartford leads 74-49-10, 11 ties
- Postseason History: Florida 2-0 (d. Carolina in 2023 ECF in 4; 2025 ECF in 5)
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (18-13-2) LINES
27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 13 Sam Reinhart
23 Carter Verhaeghe // 9 Sam Bennett // 63 Brad Marchand
10 A.J. Greer // 17 Evan Rodrigues // 11 Mackie Samoskevich
71 Luke Kunin // 18 Noah Gregor // 70 Jesper Boqvist
42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad
77 Niko Mikkola // 3 Seth Jones
26 Uvis Balinskis // 2 Jeff Petry
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
40 Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Jack Studnicka, Donovan Sebrango
Injured: Sasha Barkov (knee), Matthew Tkachuk (lower body), Tomas Nosek (knee), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Cole Schwindt (broken arm)
PROJECTED CAROLINA HURRICANES (22-9-2) LINES
37 Andrei Svechnikov // 20 Sebastian Aho // 24 Seth Jarvis
27 Nikolaj Ehlers // 22 Logan Stankoven // 53 Jackson Blake
28 William Carrier // 11 Jordan Staal // 50 Eric Robinson
71 Taylor Hall // 77 Mark Jankowski // 82 Jesperi Kotkaniemi
19 K’Andre Miller // 26 Sean Walker
4 Shayne Gostisbehere // 5 Jalen Chatfield
21 Alexander Nikishin // 74 Jaccob Slavin
32 Brandon Bussi
31 Frederik Andersen
Scratched: Mike Reilly, Pyotr Kochetkov
Injured: Jordan Martinook (lower body)
