Panthers make rare January home appearance as Sh

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The Florida Panthers look to build off the solid end to a road trip and keep pace in the crowded Eastern Conference race for a playoff spot when they host the San Jose Sharks on Monday.

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Florida just finished a six-game road trip with a 3-3-0 record. The Panthers lost the first two games but then bounced back to win three of the next four and end on a high note. Most recently, they earned a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday, a strong recovery after being dumped 9-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes the night before.

"It's a hard thing we went through for 48 hours," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "Back-to-back is not easy in this league. You're playing a team that's fighting for their playoff lives. I ran the top end really hard. We had a very difficult night emotionally , and they handled it."

The Panthers woke up Sunday four points behind the Buffalo Sabres for the second wild-card spot, with two other teams in between.

The race for contention will get a boost with star forward Matthew Tkachuk set to make his season debut against the Sharks. He missed the first 47 games of the season after playing through a torn adductor and sports hernia to earn the team's second Stanley Cup championship. He underwent surgery in August.

Tkachuk, who was traded from Calgary to Florida ahead of the 2023 season, has 254 points in 211 regular-season games with the Panthers.

"I'm feeling great," Tkachuk said following the team's morning skate Monday. "I'm just so excited to be back. It was a little over five months since the surgery, so just chomping at the bit to come back."

Florida could also get fellow winger Brad Marchand back after missing five games with an undisclosed injury.

Marchand is second on the team in goals and points and shares the team lead in assists with Sam Reinhart, who sits atop the other two categories.

Monday's contest will be a brief stop at home for the Panthers, who are 14-9-3 as hosts this season. After squaring off against the Sharks, they'll hit the road again for four of their next five games, beginning with three in four days against the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks.

The Sharks arrive in Florida for the third game of a four-game swing through the Eastern Conference.

After winning six of seven from Dec. 27 to Jan. 10, San Jose has been up and down in its past three outings, alternating wins and losses. The team is coming off a 4-2 defeat to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.

"I thought our guys worked hard," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "It is just that our brains weren't turned out. Our puck play was horrendous. made some big saves and gave us a chance to win the hockey game, but we didn't take it."

Despite their recent struggles, the Sharks entered Sunday in the second wild- card spot in the Western Conference with 51 points. That total is tied with three of their division rivals the Seattle Kraken, who are third in the Pacific Division, and their fellow Californians in Los Angeles and Anaheim. San Jose has a game in hand on both the Kings and Ducks.

Sophomore forward Will Smith returned to play against Detroit after missing 13 games due to an upper-body injury and scored his 13th goal of the season. The 20-year-old, who has played 34 games this season, is five goals and 15 points away from matching the totals from his 74-game rookie season.

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