The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting set to take on the Florida Panthers in a clash of two teams that are at different stages of the NHL season. The Panthers are coming off of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships looking for a three-peat, and the Penguins are in a stage where they seem to be rebuilding but nobody truly knows.
But the Penguins are off to a fast start at 5-2 through the first seven games of their season and the Panthers are 4-4 to begin their year, but the Panthers are a dangerous team no matter their record. But the Penguins so far this season are also no slouch.
The Penguins look poised and are detail-oriented and look like they are actually listening to new head coach Dan Muse. They look faster and are getting good goaltending and everything so far seems to be clicking. So much so, that Panthers head coach Paul Maurice praised how well the Penguins have played this season.
Paul Maurice on the Penguins: “They’ve earned it. They haven’t been lucky.”
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) October 23, 2025
It really says something that the Penguins are getting praise from the Panthers head coach. The Panthers being back-to-back cup champions and their head coach noticing how well the Penguins have played out of the gate, really says something to how good of a job Muse and company are doing.
If the Penguins are to beat the Panthers in Sunrise on Thursday night, that will really be a statement to how the season could end up going for them. The Panthers are a big tough team and are used to playing big boy hockey and being physical all-game long.
The Panthers are missing their captain Alexsander Barkov for the season with a knee injury and Matthew Tkachuk is out till December after he had offseason Sports Hernia surgery. Those two players for the Panthers are no slouch, but the Panthers are still a tough opponent regardless of those two not playing.
The Panthers know how they want to play; they know how to get a forecheck going, they know how to light up the scoreboard. If the Penguins want to win and prove Maurice right from his statement, they are going to have to start fast and play as well as they have been through their first seven games.