GameDay Caterwaul: Florida Panthers at Detroit Red Wings

Panthers (10-2-2 22P) at Red Wings (4-11-3 11P)

• WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
• WHERE: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
• ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Detroit, ESPN+
• 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 5 of 8 (3-1-0)
• LAST MEETING: FLA 2, @DET 1 - (Recap) 2/9/2021
• NEXT MEETING: February 20, 2021
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Driedger (5-1-1 .924/ 2.39 0SO) vs Greiss (1-9-3 .899/ 2.90 0SO)
• PLAYER STATS: Florida / Detroit

Scouting Report (courtesy of Pickwise)

The Florida Panthers are entering this game on a two-game winning streak. Both of the wins have come against very good opponents, the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning. They have proven they are to be a legit contender in the Central Division, currently sitting in first place. Florida is already 3-1 against the Detroit Red Wings this season. Three of those games were decided by one goal. The Panthers have improved as a team since their last meeting with the Red Wings. Their top forwards, Alexsander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau have been on fire in the past few games. They have 15 and 20 points through their first 14 games, respectively. It will be a very tough task for the Red Wings to keep them at bay. Chris Driedger will be getting his third consecutive start on Friday. He has been the better of the two goalies for the Panthers this season, posting a 5-1-1 record, with a 2.39 GAA and .924 SVP. He will be looking to build on his last victory over the Hurricanes, and potentially take over the starting position full-time. Overall, this Panthers team is too strong for the Red Wings to handle.

The Red Wings were shut out by the Chicago Blackhawks in their last outing. They simply do not generate enough offense to be able to compete with a team as hot as the Panthers are right now. They are second-last in the NHL, with 1.94 goals for per game. The points lead for their team is shared by Anthony Mantha and Dylan Larkin, with a grand total of nine points each. You can’t combine their lack of scoring with an average of 3.11 goals against per game and expect to win.

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

• CHICAGO (9-5-4 22P) at CAROLINA (10-3-1 21P) 7 p.m. NHL Network

Idle: TBL (21P), CLS (20P), DAL (14P), NSH (12P)

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