GameDay Caterwaul: Florida Panthers at Detroit Red Wings

Panthers (3-0-1 7P) at Red Wings (2-5-1 5P)

• WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
• WHERE: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
• ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Detroit
• ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 640 WMEN (PB), 1370 WAXE (TC), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
• SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #LGRW, #FLAvsDET, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
• ENEMY INTEL: Winging It In Motown
• FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 8
• LAST MEETING: FLA 4, @DET 1 - (Recap) 1/18/2020
• NEXT MEETING: January 31, 2021
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Bobrovsky (2-0-0 .879/ 3.35 0SO) vs Greiss (0-4-1 .899/ 3.04 0SO)
• PLAYER STATS: Florida / Detroit

Scouting Report

A pair of normal Atlantic Division rivals take the ice in a revamped Central Division matchup on the ice in the Motor City. The Florida Panthers are on the road as they travel to face the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night in the first game of a two-game set. Florida dropped the second game of their two-game set on the road against Columbus as they fell 3-2 in a shootout Thursday night. Detroit was swept in their two-game set on the road against Dallas as they were pasted 7-3 Thursday night. The Panthers are 8-1-1 in the last 10 meetings and have taken the last six matchups, including a 4-1 road win in the most recent matchup on January 18, 2020.

Florida had won their first three games of the season while dealing with a pair of postponements. The Panthers earned a point Thursday but still suffered their first loss of the season. They entered Friday tied for fourth in the Central Division, two points behind Columbus for the top spot in the division race. Florida stands tied for fourth in the league in scoring with 3.75 goals per game this season. The Panthers are 14th in goals against by allowing 2.75 goals per contest. Florida is 11th in the league in power play success as they have converted 25 percent of their chances with the man advantage. The Panthers stand just 25th in penalty killing as they successfully navigate 71.4 percent of their shorthanded situations on the year.

Detroit has had a rough start to the season as they look for some consistency. The Red Wings dropped their fourth straight game and fell to 2-5-1 on the year. That left them at the bottom of the Central Division, two points behind the final playoff spot and four back of division-leading Columbus entering Friday. Detroit stands tied for 29th in scoring offense as they put up an average of two goals per game on the year. The Red Wings are 26th in goals against as they allow 3.63 goals a night this season. Detroit is 22nd in the league in power play success as they convert 14.8 percent of their chances with the man advantage. The Red Wings are 24th in the league in penalty killing as they successfully navigate 72 percent of their shorthanded situations this season.

Full preview at Winners & Whiners

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

• DALLAS (4-0-0 8P) at CAROLINA (3-1-0 6P) 7 p.m.
• NASHVILLE (4-3-0 8P) at TAMPA BAY (3-1-1 7P) 7 p.m.

Idle: CLS (11P), CHI (7P)

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