Markstrom returns as Samoskevich brings the Kraken back to Sunrise

Florida gets its starter back tonight, and that matters more than the record. Jacob Markstrom returns after missing two games and starts against Seattle.

The cats are 4-2-2, and the Kraken walk in at 5-2-1 carrying one of the more dangerous power plays in the league. This is a game the home team should win, and after a choppy opening stretch, it needs to.

Then there's the homecoming. Mackie Samoskevich spent parts of three seasons in this organization, and now he's on Seattle's top line. Maurice still talks about him like a guy he coached. "He's capable of scoring 30, 40 goals," Maurice said.

The lineup card:

Panthers (expected): Brady Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk up top. Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart and Lars Eller on the second line. Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell and Sandis Vilmanis third, with Bokondji Imama, Sam Lafferty and Garnet Hathaway on the fourth.

The pairs: it's Gustav Forsling with Aaron Ekblad, Niko Mikkola with Seth Jones, and Dmitry Kulikov with Uvis Balinskis.

In net: Markstrom is confirmed. Akira Schmid backs up.

Who's out: Aleksander Barkov (knee) and Brad Marchand (knee) are still out. Jonah Gadjovich is out too. Radko Gudas misses his third straight game, and Maurice said he could be back Wednesday in Ottawa.

Kraken (expected): Jared McCann, Matty Beniers and Samoskevich on the top line. Bobby McMann, Chandler Stephenson and Jordan Eberle on the second. Joey Daccord is the expected starter. Seattle is without Brandon Montour, who got hurt Thursday in Tampa, plus Jacob Melanson and Ryan Lindgren.

The other side

Seattle has been dangerous traveling, winning four of five away from home. They've won three of their last five, and they push teams around with the man advantage: 24.0 percent on the power play, per NHL data. Stephenson has eight points and a four-game point streak, by our count. Eberle has points in three straight.

Losing Montour hurts them, because he's their best puck mover on the back end, and now the Dunn-Larsson pair has to carry more of the night.

Last season the teams split two games. Seattle leads the all-time series 6-2-2, which is one of those numbers nobody around Sunrise enjoys repeating.

The one matchup:

Seattle's power play against Florida's penalty kill. The Kraken sit at 24.0 percent. The Panthers are killing at 78.1 percent through eight games, by our count, which is not the standard in this building. If the cats stay out of the box, they control this game. If they don't, Eberle and McCann get looks from their spots all night.

The Ferda number

Matthew Tkachuk has a point in seven straight games, 11 points in eight, per NHL data. Meanwhile Bennett is on a four-game pointless run, though his ice time jumped by 4.1 minutes on Thursday against Vancouver. Maurice is giving him the minutes, so now he has to cash one.

One more for the bettors: Florida is 1-6 against the puck line on closing lines this season, by our count. Tonight they're -185 on the money line with the total at 6.5. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Pabs' read:

Markstrom gives this group a calm presence behind the defense, and the top line is rolling. I want a clean game from the D, fewer than three penalties, and a Bennett goal off the wall. Panthers 4, Kraken 2.

How to watch

Puck drops at 6 p.m. ET at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. Scripps Sports has it locally, and Prime Video and KONG carry the Seattle side. Follow it live on the game page.