Florida Panthers (10GP 5-4-1 11P) vs Washington Capitals (9GP 7-2 14P)
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- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 6:30ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Miami Ft. Lauderdale Sunrise, FL; doors open at 5:30
- TICKETS: Single Game via the club; Hallo-Weekend Ticket Specials right here!
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, CSN-DC+
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN, 107.9 WAXE, 97.7 The Wave, Panthers Official App (iOS, Android)
- SOCIALLY SPEAKING: #FlaPanthers, #Caps, #WSHvsFLA & if you’re feeling generous give us a follow @LitterBoxCats and toss us a “Like” at the LBC FaceBook page
- ENEMY INTEL: Japers’ Rink
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs WSH: 45W-51L-9T 5OTL 4SOL 289GF 341GA
- ALL-TIME vs WSH at FLA: 26W-22L-4T 3OTL 2SOL 155GF 158GA
- LAST FIVE vs WSH: 2-2-1 13GF 14GA
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Montoya (2-0 .948/1.50 0SO), Grubauer (1-0 .826/4.02 0SO)
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs WSH (reg season): 78GP 30G-60A 90P 6GW
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Washington /
- NOTES: The Cats did not hold a morning skate, so Jaromir Jagr’s status for tonight’s tilt remains up in the air…Joining Jagr in the questionable department is defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who had his nose broken in last night’s loss to Boston…Colorado game aside, Florida is struggling on the penalty kill, allowing seven power-play goals in the last five games…Al Montoya is winless in four career appearances versus the Caps…Washington is 11-0-2 in the last 13 meetings between the two clubs…Alex Ovechkin has scored at least a point in seven of the eight games he has suited up for…The Capitals have killed off ten straight power plays coming into this one.
- QUOTED: “The difference in the game was the power play and Rask outplayed me. I have to be better to give the team a chance to win. (Friday) the other goalie was better than me.” – Roberto Luongo via the Sun-Sentinel
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Last game for the Cats: 3-1 loss to Boston in Sunrise on Friday. Past five: 2-2-1 15GF 12GA (streak: 1L)
Last game for the Caps: 2-1 home victory over Columbus on Friday. Past five: 4-1 19GF 12GA (streak: 1W)
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NHL.com Preview:
Backup goalie Al Montoya could get the start after Roberto Luongo made 22 saves in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Friday. Florida, which lost for the first time in three games, was without two members of its top line, center Aleksander Barkov and right wing Jaromir Jagr. Barkov (hand) won’t play, but Jagr (lower body), whose six goals and 10 points lead the Panthers, is day-to-day.
Saturday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- Pittsburgh (6-4 12P) at TORONTO (1-6-2 4P), 7:00 NHLN
- DETROIT (4-5-1 9P) at OTTAWA (5-3-2 12P), 7:00
- BOSTON (5-3-1 11P) at TAMPA BAY (5-4-2 12P), 7:00
- Idle: MONTREAL (10-2 20P), BUFFALO (4-7 8P)/
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