GameDay Caterwaul: Florida Panthers vs Nashville Predators

Panthers (5-0-1 11P) at Predators (4-5-0 8P)

• WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
• WHERE: BB&T Center, Sunrise, FL
• ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, Fox Sports Tennessee
• ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 640 WMEN (PB), 1370 WAXE (TC), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
• SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #Preds, #NSHvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
• ENEMY INTEL: On The Forecheck
• FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 8
• LAST MEETING: @FLA 3, NSH 0 - (Recap) - 11//2019
• NEXT MEETING: February 5, 2021
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Bobrovsky (3-0-0 .894/ 2.87 0SO) vs Saros (3-3-0 .906/ 2.82 0SO)
• PLAYER STATS: Florida / Nashville

Scouting Report

A six-game point streak with five victories takes the Florida Panthers (3rd in Central Division) to a domestic contest against the Nashville Predators (7th in Central), who have lost all four road outings thus far this season.

The season-opening point streak of the Florida Panthers extended to six fixtures (5-0-1) after the team edged out the Detroit Red Wings with a count of 3-2 at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday. Playing just 22 hours after earning a 3-2 overtime win in Motor City the previous night, the Cats were outshot 34-30, but killed all of their three penalties and went 2-for-4 on power play. Patric Hornqvist (5 goals, 7 points this year) and Aaron Ekblad (2 goals, 5 points) scored with the man-advantage in the middle frame after the hosts opened the scoring in the first period, with Carter Verhaeghe (5 goals, 7 points) netting Florida’s third on a delayed penalty eight minutes after the second intermission.

A double road defeat against the Tampa Bay Lightning (0-2-0) was on the cards for the Nashville Predators (4-5-0), who followed up Saturday’s 4-3 setback at the Bolts with a 5-2 loss at Amalie Arena on Monday. Eeli Tolvanen (1 goal, 1 point this year) and Mikael Granlund (3 goals, 5 points) scored at the start of the third period after the Bolts had already banked three snipes in the opening frame, adding a power-play marker in the middle period as well. The Preds have gone 0-4-0 in their first four road games of the current campaign, being outscored 19-7 by last season’s Stanley Cup finalists Tampa Bay and the Dallas Stars after visiting both teams twice so far.

Full preview at Winners & Whiners

Thursday in the Central (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):

• DALLAS (5-1-1 11P) at COLUMBUS (4-4-3 11P) 7 p.m.
• CAROLINA (6-1-0 12P) at CHICAGO (3-4-4 10P) 8 p.m.

Idle: TBL (13P), DET (6P)

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