Count the Florida Panthers’ Mackie Samoskevich and Paul Maurice among those cheering for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Monday’s College Football Playoff national championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Sergei Bobrovsky is the proven veteran. Spencer Knight is on a bit of a hot streak. How does that impact how Paul Maurice is going to handle reps between his two goaltenders?

If Paul Maurice was distraught with the Florida Panthers killing only one of four penalties against the Red Wings Thursday night, he certainly didn’t show it. Not after the 5-2 loss, nor on Friday morning.

The Florida Panthers held a spirited practice Monday morning at the IcePlex before heading to the airport for a long flight west. The Panthers will play four games in six days — they have two sets of back-to-backs — in their final western swing of the season.

Winning the Stanley Cup hasn’t been a burden to the Panthers. They’re sitting near the top of the Eastern Conference near the mid-season and having the regular season they wanted.

Ekblad (upper body) skated before Monday's practice and felt better than he thought he would, per Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site. Ekblad has missed the last five games, and it remains unclear if he will play against Anaheim on Tuesday.

Even though the Florida Panthers only had one shot on goal through the first 13 minutes of Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, coach Paul Maurice “loved” the way his team was playing.

A team that will be forever linked to the Florida Panthers is in town this weekend. Florida will welcome the Anaheim Ducks to Sunrise on Saturday night in a matchup of expansion brothers. All the way back in 1993, the Panthers and Ducks entered the NHL together as two brand new teams in non-traditional hockey markets.

Prediction for the NHL Florida Panthers vs Anaheim Ducks match will occur on January 19. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

The Florida Panthers will be without top defenseman Aaron Ekblad for at least two more games. Coach Paul Maurice said Ekblad would not make the trip to Philadelphia for the team’s quick two-game road trip which starts tonight against the Flyers and concludes Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils.

To see what’s going on around the Territory this week and beyond, continue below. Between a preseason game in Quebec, a trip to Finland and 23 road games, the Panthers have been combating the calendar nearly as much as their opponents for much of this season.