Panthers' home opener comes down to a power play on mute

Florida's power play has one goal in four games, and that's the whole home opener for me. Minnesota walks into Sunrise scoring on 38.5 percent of its power plays. Florida is at 4.3 percent, by our count.

You can get away with that on a road trip through California. You don't want to try it in your own barn with the building full.

The cats are 2-0-2 after an eight-day trip, and all four games were decided by one goal. Points in every game is fine. A power play that moves the puck like it's a hot plate is not. Paul Maurice put it simply this morning: "It feels like the season is starting today."

The lineup card: these are expected lines from an optional skate, so trust them at warmups.

• Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
• Brady Tkachuk – Lars Eller – Sam Reinhart
• Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sandis Vilmanis
• Bokondji Imama – Sam Lafferty – Garnet Hathaway
• Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
• Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
• Dmitry Kulikov – Radko Gudas

Uvis Balinskis is the expected scratch. Ekblad is back after missing two games on paternity leave, so the top pair is whole again.

In net: Jacob Markstrom is expected to start, with Akira Schmid backing up. Markstrom has a .929 save percentage and a 1.27 goals-against average through three starts. It's also his first home game as a Panther since Nov. 5, 2013. Jesper Wallstedt is expected for Minnesota at .927 through four starts, with Calvin Pickard behind him.

Who's out: Aleksander Barkov (knee) is on LTIR, with a six-to-eight-week, non-surgical rehab. Brad Marchand (knee) is out about six weeks after crashing into the post in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Jonah Gadjovich (upper body) is on LTIR.

The Wild are without Brock Faber (skull fracture), Filip Gustavsson (lower body), Nick Foligno (upper body) and Marcus Foligno (lower body). Rieger Lorenz could make his NHL debut.

The Wild lately: Minnesota is 2-1-1. They opened with wins over Nashville and Boston, then lost 3-2 to Buffalo past regulation and 3-2 in Tampa on Thursday. Kirill Kaprizov has three goals.

Head-to-head: the teams split two games last season. The last one in Sunrise, on March 26, still stings. Ekblad tied it with 1:13 left, and Joel Eriksson Ek won it with 4.4 seconds to go.

The one matchup: Quinn Hughes against the Bennett line. Hughes has six points and a point in all four games, and he plays 28 minutes a night, per NHL data. He's the engine of that 38.5 percent power play.

Florida's kill is at 78.9 percent, so the box is the last place this team wants to be. The answer is the forecheck. Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk each have three-game point streaks. Put them on Hughes and make him defend 200 feet from his own power play.

Pabs' read: Panthers 3-2. Eller has a point in three straight centering the Tkachuk-Reinhart line, and the five-on-five has been good enough every night.

Somebody finally finds the net on the power play, Markstrom stays sharp, and Sunrise gets its team back. I've seen this building through the empty years. A full house in October with the captain hurt is a good sign, not a bad one.

How to watch: 6 p.m. ET at Amerant Bank Arena. TV is Scripps Sports (WSFL 39 in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, WHDT 9 in West Palm Beach). Streaming is Panthers+ and ESPN+, and radio is WQAM. Florida is -135 on the moneyline at DraftKings, with the total at 5.5. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.