FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It will be a milestone moment Monday night for one Florida Panthers player when the team takes the ice against the Vancouver Canucks at Amerant Bank Arena.
Defenseman Jeff Petry will lace up his skates for his 1,000th career NHL game.
WATCH BELOW: Florida Panthers player lacing up his skates for 1,000th NHL game
"I never would have thought to play 1,000 games. I'm fortunate to play one, and then obviously there are a lot of guys in here that accomplished the ultimate dream, and they want to do it again, and that's what I'm kind of building throughout this season," Petry said Monday.
Petry's durability and consistency throughout his 16-year career have not gone unnoticed.
"It's a big accomplishment," Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said. "It's pretty cool to see guys accomplish these sorts of things."
"One thousand games as a defenseman, first of all, you made the best league in the world and survived it, but you played in pain, you played with separated shoulders, broken feet and all of those kinds of hard things, and you didn't let your teammates down," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said.
Florida is looking to bounce back after a tough loss Saturday night to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"I think we need to be a little quicker on the pucks, a little harder. I think against Tampa, we may have been caught up in a physical battle instead of stick on puck," Jones said.
Entering Monday night's battle against the Canucks, the Panthers are 9-8-1 on the season. The team has been hampered by several injuries, spending the early portion of the season experimenting with lines and identifying who they can depend on.
"We've changed the pairs and started to run our top-end people harder. I don't want to play (Sam) Reinhart and (Brad) Marchand as much. You'd like to be able to shave some minutes off even with (Aleksander) Barkov and Rienhart," Maurice said.
Monday's matchup with Vancouver is the third game of the Panthers' five-game homestand that includes faceoffs against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
As the Florida Panthers chase a third Stanley Cup championship this season, WPTV is along for the ride!
We will be highlighting the team with our new show on South Florida's 9 called "Panthers 360".
Hosted by WPTV anchor Mike Trim, watch the show each Wednesday evening and also streaming at 7:30 p.m.
We will take an in-depth look at the season, break down film and connect with the players and special stories off the ice.
Every Monday at 12:15 p.m. on the WPTV YouTube page, Trim will be joined by different analysts to discuss the latest on the team. We want to hear your thoughts, so post your questions and comments while the live interview takes place!
South Florida's 9 is your home for Panthers hockey all season long!
