Panthers (26-11-4 56P) at Stars (14-14-10 38P)
- WHEN: 2:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
- ON THE TUBE: NHL Network, Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports Southwest
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 640 WMEN (PB), 1370 WAXE (TC), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #GoStars, #FLAvsDAL, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Defending Big D
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 6 of 8 (4-1-0)
- LAST MEETING: FLA 4, DAL 1 – (Recap) – 3/28/2021
- NEXT MEETING: April 13, 2021
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Bobrovsky (15-6-2 .910/ 2.80 0SO) vs Khudobin (8-9-4 .912 / 2.40 3SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Dallas/
Scouting Report
The Florida Panthers’ season has been full of highs and lows, as they started off strong but then had some injuries that caused them to drop in the standings. But as of late they have been red hot winning six of their last eight games. On Saturday they will play the Dallas Stars, who are dealing with the injury bug right now and are 7-6-7 at home. Florida has one of the top players in the game in Aleksander Barkov, who has seven points in his last five games and has helped the Panthers road record stretch to 12-7-1. His high flying teammate, Jonathan Huberdeau, was having a Hart Trophy-candidate year until recently (one point in his last five games). That cannot last long, so he is due for a big night with multiple points. The Panthers have averaged 3.13 goals over their last eight games and have owned Dallas this year, winning four of the five matchups between the teams.
Dallas has lost two of their last three games and in an odd twist played six games on the road then came home for one game against the Panthers last Saturday, then flew to Nashville to play the Predators on Sunday, and then went back to Dallas to play the Panthers on Tuesday. Their schedule is all messed up due to their time off from Covid earlier in the year and it will catch up with them. The Stars have allowed 30.9 shots per game over their last eight and are playing sloppy hockey in their own zone. Florida should handle Dallas easily for the win.
Full preview at Pickswise
Saturday in the Central (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- DETROIT (13-23-6 24P) at CAROLINA (27-9-3 57P) 7 p.m.
- CHICAGO (18-18-5 41P) at COLUMBUS (15-19-8 38P) 7 p.m. NHL Network
- TAMPA BAY (27-11-2 56P) at NASHVILLE (22-18-1 45P) 8 p.m. ESPN+/
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