GameDay Caterwaul: Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning

Panthers (29-26-11 69P) vs Lightning (31-26-9 71P)

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• WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET - LBC GameThread right here at 6:30ish
• WHERE: Amalie Arena - Tampa, FL
• ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, SUN Sports
• ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
• GOODIES: Official Watch Party tonight! (Details)
• SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #TBLightning, #FLAvsTBL, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
• ENEMY INTEL: Raw Charge
• SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
• BACK-TO-BACK? (FLA/TBL): Back/None
• FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 4 of 4 (2-0-1)
• ALL-TIME vs TBL (RS): 64W-38L-10T 5TL 8SOL 385GF 336GA
• ALL-TIME at TBL (RS): 27W-26L-6T 1OTL 3SOL 186GF 178GA
• LAST FIVE vs TBL (RS): 4-0-1 18GF 10GA
• LAST MEETING: Host FLA 2 - TBL 1 (OT) - (Todd’s Recap) - 01/26/2017
• NEXT MEETING (RS): 2017-18 Season
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Reimer (12-11-5 .918/2.61 0SO) vs Vasilevskiy (15-13-6 .917/2.59 2SO)
• TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
• PLAYER STATS: Florida / Tampa Bay

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Scouting Report:

The two teams enter Saturday's meeting looking to gain ground in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Lightning, who are riding a 9-2-3 stretch that has pulled them back into the chase, are facing the possibility of playing the game without three of the team's top centers. Tyler Johnson, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette all left Thursday's game against Minnesota after sustaining left leg injuries.

While all three are officially listed as day-to-day by the team, none were on the ice for practice on Friday. Johnson and Namestnikov were seen around the locker room while receiving treatment, though Paquette, who appeared to suffer the worst injury of the three, was not seen around the arena. (More via AP)

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Last action from the Cats: 7-4 loss to Minny last night. Past five: 1-3-1 (streak: 4L)

Last action from the Bolts: 4-1 victory over Minny on Thursday. Past five: 3-1-1 (streak: 1W)

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Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):

• Philadelphia (31-27-8 70P) at BOSTON (35-26-6 70P), 1:00
• OTTAWA (38-22-6 82P) at Colorado (19-44-3 41P), 4:00
• Columbus (43-17-6 92P) at BUFFALA (27-29-12 66P), 7:00
• TORONTO (30-22-14 74P) at Carolina (27-27-10 64P), 7:00
• Idle: MON (84P), DET (63P)

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