SUNRISE — Before Thursday’s game, Florida Panthers players arched their necks from the ice to watch a hall-of-heroes video from last spring play on the scoreboard and accompany the new Eastern Conference champions banner in the rafters.
There, again, was Brandon Montour bringing the season back from the brink against Boston. There, again, was Aleksander Barkov doing that dipsy-do with the puck between his legs against Carolina, and Matthew Tkachuk, with a saint’s patience, waiting to unleash that game-winner against Carolina.
That carried the old fun into a new season that’s added season-ticket holders and more corporate money from the playoff run. But it was the opening minutes of this home opener that the blended them with an organic touch. As Florida and Toronto worked up their first sweat, a chant broke from the sell-out crowd.
“We want Florida!” it began, gaining momentum in mocking strength, the sell-out crowd delivering a throaty throwback to last spring when Toronto fans chanted their hope for their next playoff opponent. Until, of course, the Panthers became their opponent.
So, everyone remembered at the start how it ended, just as they should, just as this first night at home demanded. They kept remembering when the Panthers went ahead on a goal by Kevin Stenlund, their fourth-line center who played with Winnipeg last year.
“We want Florida,’’ another chant began.
A few minutes later, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larrson walked in front the blue line and made it 2-0. Ekman-Larrson was signed to a one-year deal as a free agent. So, like Stenlund, he wasn’t a part of last year’s fun.
That meant their defeat of Toronto came with the proper introductions necessary to turn the page. There’s a certain ebb and flow to any roster, but winning ones don’t typically turn over like the Panthers. Nine of the 20 Panthers players in the home opener weren’t around for Toronto last spring – 10, if you count center Eetu Luostarinen, who was injured for the series.
That will decrease with the return of injured regulars Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Montour. And the marquee is still full of the familiar as Thursday night showed.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stood out Thursday, doing whatever the game asked just as he did for full series in May and June. Tkachuk’s game was again the perfect blend of instigating and inspiring, and Barkov played his usual brand strong until taking a tripping penalty with just over a minute left.
That added some finishing drama to the night. Toronto, which ranked second last year in power-play scoring and already had one this night, had a six-on-four advantage with the empty net. Bobrovsky made the last of his 29 saves. Stenlund then blocked a shot and pushed the puck down the ice to effectively end the night.
Sam Reinhart’s empty-net goal officially ended it at the buzzer.
“It felt very similar to a playoff win,’’ Tkachuk said.
That it was just the fourth game wasn’t lost on anyone. Coach Paul Maurice wasn’t quibbling after going 2-2 against four playoff teams with the first three on the road. This night wasn’t always pretty, he said, but that was fine.
“We’ve gotten good at ugly,’’ he said.
This first night started with celebrating last spring and blended seamlessly into this next season. The new storylines in an arena that doesn’t even bear last season’s name — Amerant Bank Arena, it’s now called — had good first nights.
“Nope, probably not,’’ Stenlund said when asked if this opening script could have gone better. “It was all good.”
He wasn’t around last year, but Bobrovsky perhaps had the fitting idea most players have. He didn’t watch the video of the playoff success before the game, nor look at the new banner high in the rafters. All these new teammates in a new season against a strong opponent meant he’d already filed last season to the past.
“We have a new opportunity in front of us,’’ he said.
One home win down. Seventy-eight more games to go.