Some old friends visit Sunrise tonight with the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks are first in the Western Conference and one point behind the league leading Rangers, while the Panthers have seen their eight point division lead shrink to three.
Tonight the Panthers visit New Jersey for their third game against Pete DeBoer's Devils. The season series has been interesting so far, with Patrik Elias complaining about his team's loss in the first game to what he considered a "one line team" and the Devils coming back from a 2 goal deficit in the second game to win in the shootout, with Elias scoring the game clinching goal.
The Panthers play their final game of the season against the New York Rangers tonight and the first between the two clubs since the ugly high sticking/sucker punch incident between Tomas Kopecky and Ranger forwards Michael Del Zotto and Mike Rupp.
Tonight is many Panthers' fans least favorite night of the season: the New Year's Eve game against the Canadiens. Every game against the Habs provides an invasion of their fans, but the New Year's Eve game is always the worst, as the BankAtlantic Centre is transformed into Bell Centre South.
The Rangers make their annual New Year's week visit tonight as a warm-up for the Winter Classic on Monday. The Cats were embarrassed on their last visit to Madison Square Garden on their last visit and will likely have that in their minds tonight.
The holiday break is over and it's time for a decimated Panthers squad to return to action. The last couple of weeks were a killer for the Cats and this week is going to be equally rough if they don't get some of their injured players back quickly.
The Panthers' two-game road trip this week is turning into a serious test of their mettle. The trip features back-to-back games against two teams that will be in the Panthers' new conference next season, and the Panthers are playing with seven forwards out.
The Panthers are on a quick pre-Christmas two-game road trip, playing against two teams that will be in the Panthers' new conference starting next season: the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins. The Panthers have not been good against the Senators, losing all four games last season and the lone game they've played this season.
Tonight's matchup features two teams that have done what everyone said they couldn't. Last season, with their ownership situation in doubt, the Coyotes made the playoffs. This season, though picked to be at the bottom of the league, both teams are in or close to playoff spots.
Today's game, the second of six between the Panthers and Hurricanes, features the top and bottom teams in the Southeast Division. But, as always, underestimating an opponent is a great way for teams at the top of the standings to lose games to those at the bottom.
