GameDay Caterwaul: Florida Panthers vs Nashville Predators

Panthers (5-0-2 12P) vs Predators (5-5-0 10P)

• 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 2 of 8 (0-0-1)
• LAST MEETING: NSH 6, @FLA 5 - (Recap) - 2/4/2021
• NEXT MEETING: March 4, 2021
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Driedger (2-0-1 .937/ 1.95 0SO) vs Rinne (2-2-0 .885/ 2.97 0SO)
• PLAYER STATS: Florida / Nashville

Scouting Report

Having won the first contest of their current back-to-back set against the Florida Panthers (3rd in Central Division) in overtime yesterday, the Nashville Predators (7th in Central) will try to sweep the stretch while still remaining in the Sunshine State.

The Nashville Predators (5-5-0) put an end to a two-game skid (0-2-0), finally banking their first road win of the season (1-4-0) following a 6-5 overtime victory against the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center last night. The Preds scored twice in the last 2:06 of the third period to erase a 5-3 deficit, with Filip Forsberg (6 goals, 11 points this year) nailing down the win four minutes into the extra session with his second snipe of the evening, thus picking up his fifth point of the game (2 strikes, 3 assists). Matt Duchene (2 goals, 5 points this season) also collected two markers, while Calle Jarnkrok (2 goals, 2 points) and Roman Josi (2 goals, 5 points) buried a tally each.

The season-opening point streak of the Florida Panthers stretched out to seven games (5-0-2) after the team ended a two-game winning run with a 6-5 overtime defeat against the Nashville Predators ar BB&T Center yesterday. The Cats were outshot 41-36, went 2-for-4 on both power play and penalty kill, and gave up three separate one-goal leads and a two-goal one, eventually losing the game with one minute remaining in the tiebreaker. Jonathan Huberdeau (4 goals, 12 points this year) collected his first NHL hat trick and recorded a career-high five points in a single contest (3 goals, 2 assists). Aaron Ekblad (3 goals, 6 points this season) and Aleksander Barkov (3 goals, 9 points) also scored for the Panthers, whose current point run is their second-longest to open a season after a 12-game streak in 1996-97 (8-0-4).

Full preview at Winners & Whiners

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

• DETROIT (2-7-2 6P) at TAMPA BAY (6-1-1 13P) 7 p.m. ESPN+

Idle: CLB (13P), CAR (12P), CHI (12P), DAL (11P)

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