Florida Panthers Line Matchups
2026-27 · 1-0-1 · 3 pts · 3rd Atlantic
How the Panthers match lines at 5-on-5: who they send against the other team's top line, how hard they match at home, where they change last, versus on the road, and which players carry the toughest minutes. This is the Last-Change Fingerprint.
Tonight
Florida Panthers at Anaheim Ducks
8:00 PM ETThe Ducks have last change at home. Minutes are expected 5v5 time together; the ratio compares it with coaches ignoring matchups (1.00×).
Panthers
- Line 1Verhaeghe – Bennett – Reinhartvs ANA Granlund line 4.4 min (1.06×) · vs ANA Luneau pair 7.8 min (1.15×)
- Line 2Luostarinen – Tkachuk – Vilmanisvs ANA Granlund line 3.8 min (1.02×) · vs ANA Luneau pair 6.3 min (1.04×)
- Line 3EllerNew team · 2 GP with FLA – TkachukNew team · 2 GP with FLA – Lundellvs ANA Granlund line 3.4 min (1.04×) · vs ANA Luneau pair 4.9 min (0.91×)
- Line 4Barkov – HathawayNew team · 2 GP with FLA – ImamaNew team · 2 GP with FLAvs ANA Nesterenko line 1.9 min (1.50×) · vs ANA Luneau pair 2.4 min (0.79×)
- Pair 1Mikkola – Jonesvs ANA Granlund line 5.8 min (1.05×) · vs ANA Luneau pair 9.0 min (1.00×)
- Pair 2Kulikov – Balinskisvs ANA Granlund line 4.1 min (1.02×) · vs ANA Luneau pair 6.7 min (1.00×)
- Pair 3Ekblad – GudasNew team · 2 GP with FLAvs ANA Caulfield line 3.3 min (1.12×) · vs ANA Luneau pair 5.8 min (0.98×)
Ducks
- Line 1Granlund – Killorn – Carlssonvs FLA Verhaeghe line 4.4 min (1.06×) · vs FLA Mikkola pair 5.8 min (1.05×)
- Line 2Sennecke – GreerNew team · 1 GP with ANA – Gauthiervs FLA Verhaeghe line 4.1 min (1.06×) · vs FLA Mikkola pair 5.5 min (1.08×)
- Line 3Caulfield – Washe – Vatranovs FLA Verhaeghe line 3.3 min (0.99×) · vs FLA Mikkola pair 4.2 min (0.94×)
- Line 4Nesterenko – MalottNew team · 1 GP with ANA – Poehlingvs FLA Luostarinen line 2.5 min (0.96×) · vs FLA Mikkola pair 3.6 min (0.92×)
- Pair 1Luneau – LaCombevs FLA Verhaeghe line 7.8 min (1.15×) · vs FLA Mikkola pair 9.0 min (1.00×)
- Pair 2MitchellNew team · 1 GP with ANA – Mintyukovvs FLA Verhaeghe line 5.0 min (1.01×) · vs FLA Mikkola pair 6.7 min (1.02×)
- Pair 3Hinds – Warrenvs FLA Eller line 2.3 min (1.21×) · vs FLA Mikkola pair 3.1 min (0.95×)
Full line-vs-line grid
| ANA | Line 1Verhaeghe | Line 2Luostarinen | Line 3Eller | Line 4Barkov | Pair 1Mikkola | Pair 2Kulikov | Pair 3Ekblad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1 Granlund | 4.4(1.1) | 3.8(1.0) | 3.4(1.0) | 1.4(0.8) | 5.8(1.1) | 4.1(1.0) | 3.2(0.9) |
| Line 2 Sennecke | 4.1(1.1) | 3.5(1.0) | 3.1(1.0) | 1.4(0.8) | 5.5(1.1) | 3.7(1.0) | 3.0(0.9) |
| Line 3 Caulfield | 3.3(1.0) | 3.0(1.0) | 2.6(1.0) | 1.6(1.1) | 4.2(0.9) | 3.4(1.0) | 3.3(1.1) |
| Line 4 Nesterenko | 2.3(0.8) | 2.5(1.0) | 2.3(1.0) | 1.9(1.5) | 3.6(0.9) | 3.0(1.1) | 2.9(1.1) |
| Pair 1 Luneau | 7.8(1.1) | 6.3(1.0) | 4.9(0.9) | 2.4(0.8) | 9.0(1.0) | 6.7(1.0) | 5.8(1.0) |
| Pair 2 Mitchell | 5.0(1.0) | 4.3(1.0) | 4.0(1.0) | 2.3(1.1) | 6.7(1.0) | 4.7(1.0) | 4.2(1.0) |
| Pair 3 Hinds | 1.6(0.7) | 2.1(1.0) | 2.3(1.2) | 1.6(1.5) | 3.1(0.9) | 2.3(1.0) | 2.3(1.1) |
- With last change at home, the Panthers are a middle-of-the-pack line matcher (20th of 32 by matching intensity).
- At home their top line meets the other team's top line about as often as random mixing would give (1.05×).
- They match lines at least as hard on the road as at home (intensity 0.08 vs 0.06), changing on the fly to get their matchups.
From the last 30 home and 30 road games with shift data (this season and last), as of Oct 4, 2026. Ratios are shrunk toward 1.00 for small samples.
At home: with last change
| Panthers | Opp Line 1 | Opp Line 2 | Opp Line 3 | Opp Line 4 | Opp Pair 1 | Opp Pair 2 | Opp Pair 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | 1.05 | 1.08 | 0.99 | 0.81 | 1.02 | 1.01 | 0.96 |
| Line 2 | 1.08 | 1.07 | 0.96 | 0.82 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Line 3 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 1.04 | 0.98 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 1.03 |
| Line 4 | 0.81 | 0.77 | 0.99 | 1.54 | 1.01 | 1.03 | 1.03 |
| Pair 1 | 1.09 | 1.02 | 0.98 | 0.88 | 0.99 | 1.01 | 0.98 |
| Pair 2 | 1.05 | 1.05 | 0.95 | 0.94 | 1.02 | 1.00 | 0.94 |
| Pair 3 | 0.81 | 0.92 | 1.09 | 1.28 | 0.97 | 0.97 | 1.08 |
On the road
| Panthers | Opp Line 1 | Opp Line 2 | Opp Line 3 | Opp Line 4 | Opp Pair 1 | Opp Pair 2 | Opp Pair 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | 1.11 | 1.08 | 0.97 | 0.76 | 1.12 | 1.02 | 0.81 |
| Line 2 | 1.02 | 1.06 | 1.04 | 0.85 | 1.08 | 1.03 | 0.87 |
| Line 3 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 1.00 | 1.02 | 0.92 | 0.95 | 1.19 |
| Line 4 | 0.81 | 0.80 | 0.98 | 1.51 | 0.83 | 1.02 | 1.24 |
| Pair 1 | 1.07 | 1.01 | 0.98 | 0.93 | 1.01 | 1.00 | 0.95 |
| Pair 2 | 1.01 | 1.05 | 1.00 | 0.93 | 1.03 | 0.99 | 0.96 |
| Pair 3 | 0.87 | 0.94 | 1.04 | 1.23 | 0.92 | 0.98 | 1.11 |
Player competition
Each skater's 5v5 time against each of the opponent's units, as a ratio to random mixing, over his recent games (both venues). Above 1.00 against L1 and P1: he draws top competition.
| Player | Role | GP | Opp L1 | Opp L2 | Opp L3 | Opp L4 | Opp P1 | Opp P2 | Opp P3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Verhaeghe | Line 1 · 13.8 min | 40 | 1.06 | 1.10 | 1.01 | 0.74 | 1.07 | 1.05 | 0.83 |
| Sam Bennett | Line 1 · 13.7 min | 40 | 0.95 | 1.12 | 1.07 | 0.82 | 1.12 | 1.02 | 0.80 |
| Sam Reinhart | Line 1 · 12.3 min | 40 | 1.26 | 1.09 | 0.90 | 0.54 | 1.13 | 1.00 | 0.79 |
| Eetu Luostarinen | Line 2 · 12.2 min | 40 | 1.19 | 1.06 | 0.88 | 0.74 | 1.07 | 0.98 | 0.94 |
| Matthew Tkachuk | Line 2 · 12.0 min | 33 | 0.91 | 1.08 | 1.09 | 0.90 | 1.14 | 0.99 | 0.83 |
| Sandis Vilmanis | Line 2 · 11.6 min | 21 | 0.92 | 0.87 | 1.06 | 1.20 | 0.97 | 0.92 | 1.16 |
| Lars Eller | Line 3 · 11.1 min | 2 | 1.06 | 0.85 | 0.87 | 1.23 | 0.86 | 0.97 | 1.21 |
| Brady Tkachuk | Line 3 · 10.7 min | 2 | 0.94 | 1.21 | 1.01 | 0.81 | 0.88 | 1.09 | 1.08 |
| Anton Lundell | Line 3 · 9.8 min | 40 | 1.30 | 1.01 | 0.86 | 0.64 | 1.15 | 0.93 | 0.89 |
| Aleksander Barkov | Line 4 · 7.5 min | 2 | 0.71 | 1.09 | 1.04 | 1.28 | 0.95 | 1.09 | 1.03 |
| Garnet Hathaway | Line 4 · 5.3 min | 2 | 0.74 | 0.64 | 0.95 | 1.85 | 0.92 | 0.98 | 1.16 |
| Bokondji Imama | Line 4 · 4.9 min | 2 | 0.68 | 0.62 | 0.96 | 1.92 | 0.92 | 0.97 | 1.17 |
| Niko Mikkola | Pair 1 · 18.0 min | 40 | 1.02 | 1.03 | 1.03 | 0.92 | 1.00 | 1.02 | 0.93 |
| Seth Jones | Pair 1 · 17.3 min | 40 | 1.10 | 1.01 | 0.96 | 0.92 | 1.02 | 1.02 | 0.91 |
| Dmitry Kulikov | Pair 2 · 13.2 min | 21 | 1.07 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.96 | 0.96 | 1.04 | 0.97 |
| Uvis Balinskis | Pair 2 · 12.9 min | 40 | 0.85 | 1.01 | 1.11 | 1.13 | 0.97 | 0.95 | 1.08 |
| Aaron Ekblad | Pair 3 · 11.7 min | 40 | 1.15 | 1.04 | 0.89 | 0.84 | 1.05 | 0.99 | 0.93 |
| Radko Gudas | Pair 3 · 11.3 min | 2 | 0.80 | 0.81 | 1.10 | 1.44 | 1.04 | 0.93 | 1.03 |
Every game tonight
These habits drive the Matchup Forecast. It projects which line and pair each player faces tonight, for every game. Also see the Panthers line combinations and the methodology.
FAQ
Who do the Panthers match against the other team's top line?
At home, with last change, the Panthers' pair 1 (D) sees top lines 1.09× as often as random mixing, and among depth forwards line 2 gets the most top-line minutes (1.08×). The full grid and each player's numbers are on this page.
What is a Last-Change Fingerprint?
It's a coach's line-matching habit, measured from shift charts. Each cell compares the 5-on-5 time one of his units spent against one of the opponent's units with what it would have been if he ignored matchups. 1.00× is random mixing, above it is a matchup he seeks, below it one he avoids. It's measured separately at home, where the home coach changes last, and on the road.
How do the Panthers' matchups affect fantasy hockey?
A forward who regularly draws the other team's top line and top pair faces tougher competition than his raw numbers suggest. A sheltered line gets softer minutes. Tonight's Matchup Forecast applies these habits to each game's projected lineups.