Anaheim Ducks at Florida Panthers - Game 58 Preview

Florida: 27-19-11 (65PTS)
Anaheim: 24-24-10 (58PTS)
Game Time: 6:00 PM EST
Television: Fox Sports Florida, Prime
Radio: 560 WQAM

The Panthers lost another two games in a row this week, one to the Washington Capitals, but the story of the day is not the Capitals' loss yesterday preserving the Cats' two point lead. Today will be game 613 for Stephen Weiss, tying him for the franchise lead with Radek Dvorak. The Panthers have not done particularly well in milestone games the last few years, but one hopes they can put together a better three periods than they did against the Capitals on Friday night. The Ducks will be a tough opponent. After a slow start, they've come to life under new coach Bruce Boudreau, hired 72 hours after he was dismissed by the Capitals. The Capitals have yet to right the ship, while the Ducks, at the bottom of the league early in the season, are pushing towards a playoff spot that was thought all but unattainable. The Panthers haven't been very good in their few games against Anaheim, but goaltender Jose Theodore, who's spent some time in the Western Conference, has been respectable against them. Defenseman Brian Campbell has 21 points in 28 games against the Ducks, including three goals.

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LBC Game Thread will open 30 minutes prior to puck drop.

News and Notes

Last meeting

Corey Perry had the game winner and Jonas Hiller the win as the Ducks beat the Panthers 5-3 in Anaheim back in December 2010.

Last game

After a good start, the Panthers sat back in the second and third periods to lose 2-1 to the Washington Capitals at home on Friday night.

Lineup

Colby Robak was returned to San Antonio after two games and Rampage captain Nolan Yonkman was called up to replace him.

Injuries

• F Scottie Upshall (core), 2/1, 6 to 8 weeks
• F Marco Sturm (lower body), 2/2 unknown
• D Ed Jovanovski (hand), 1/16, week to week
• D Dmitry Kulikov (knee), 1/21, 6 to 8 weeks
• D Jason Garrison (lowerbody), 2/11, 7 to 10 days
• F John Madden (unknown), 2/17, 2 weeks
  

Starting goaltenders:

Scott Clemmensen has one loss in game played with a 4.07 GAA and ,882 save percentage. Jose Theodore is 7-4-0 against Anaheim, with a 2.32 GAA and .920 save percentage. Jonas Hiller is 2-0-0 against the Cats with a 1.50 GAA and .954 save percentage. Backup Jeff Deslauriers has one win in one game played with a 1.85 GAA and a .943 save percentage.

Lines

Forwards

1. Fleischmann-Weiss-Versteeg
2. Bergenheim-Goc-Samuelsson
3. Kopecky-Matthias-Bradley
4. Barch-Santorelli-Skille

Defense

1. Campbell-Gudbranson
2. Weaver-Ellerby
3. Strachan-Yonkman