Red Wings (14-15-4 32P) at Panthers (15-14-5 35P)
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- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 7ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Detroit
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- TICKETS: Single Game via Ticketmaster
- GOODIES: Cookies & Cocoa with the Cats (details)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #RedWings, #DETvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Winging it in Motown
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 4 of 4 (3-0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs DET (RS): 15W-16L-5T 2OTL 1SOL 101GF 115GA
- ALL-TIME at FLA (RS): 6W-10L-2T 2OTL 0SOL 52GF 60GA
- LAST FIVE vs DET (RS): 4-1-0 13GF 15GA
- LAST MEETING: FLA 2 at DET 1 (OT) (Todd’s Recap) – 12/01/2016
- NEXT MEETING: 2017-18 Season
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Luongo (11-9-3 .918/2.42 0SO), Coreau (0-1-0 .889/4.11 0SO)
- TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs DET (RS): 43GP 12G-25A 37P +2 0GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Detroit/
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Scouting Report:
The Red Wings, 3-5-2 in their last 10 contests, dropped a 4-1 decision to the Lightning. Worse was the way it happened: Losing starting goaltender Jimmy Howard (lower body) in a collision in the second period — he was helped off by teammates Steve Ott and Drew Miller and placed on seven-day injured reserve on Wednesday — and watching an anemic power play continue to fail. Detroit addressed the goalie situation by calling up Jared Coreau from AHL affiliate Grand Rapids, and he will back up starter Petr Mrazek. However, there’s no similar quick fix for the power play.
Detroit, whose 12.4 percent success rate ranks last in the league, was typically bad on Florida’s west coast, going 0-for-5 with the man-advantage as it fell behind the Lightning early. The club is just 1-for-33 in the last 10 games and a paltry 3-for-50 in the last 16 games on the power plays. “We lost the specialty teams battle bad,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told the team’s web site after the loss. “It’s hard to win on the road, especially when you get down 1-0 early. … We put so much pressure on our (penalty kill) because our power play doesn’t score.” (More via Yahoo! Sports/AP)
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Last game for the Cats: 3-1 home loss vs Boston a night ago. Last five: 2-2-1 (streak: 1W)
Last game for the Wings: 4-1 loss at Tampa Bay Tuesday. Last five: 1-3-1 (streak: 1L)
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Friday in the Atlantic Division (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- BUFFALO (12-12-8 32P) at NY Islanders (12-14-6 30P), 7:00
- TAMPA BAY (17-14-3 37P) at Washington (19-8-4 42P), 7:00
- MONTREAL (21-8-4 46P) at Columbus (22-5-4 48P), 7:30
- BOSTON (18-14-3 39P) at Carolina (14-11-7 35P), 7:30
- TORONTO (13-12-7 33P) at Arizona (11-17-5 27P), 9:00
- Idle: OTT (39P)/
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