The Florida Panthers (8-5-1) will get Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad back will they face Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers (8-7-0) at FLA Live Arena this afternoon. To make room for Ekblad, the cap-strapped Cats returned Matt Kiersted, Lucas Carlsson and Aleski Heopniemi to the Charlotte Checkers and placed struggling forward Rudolfs Balcers on waivers. Florida has won three of four and its faulty power play is showing signs of life, clicking once in each of those wins. The Oilers are playing the final tilt of a four-game road trip that they’ve gone 1-2 on. They were trounced 7-2 by the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Thursday, so they will be looking to head home with a big win over the Panthers.
- WHEN: 4:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Bally Sports Florida, Sportsnet
- ON THE DIAL: 96.5 FM HD-2 (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #LetsGoOilers, #EDMvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Copper and Blue
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 2
- LAST MEETING: EDM 4, @FLA 3 – (Recap) 2/26/2022
- NEXT MEETING: November 28, 2022
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Spencer Knight (5-1-0 .925 / 2.18 1SO) vs Stuart Skinner (2-3-0 .928 / 2.62 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Edmonton/
Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- OTTAWA (4-8-1 9P) at Philadelphia (7-4-2 16P) 1 p.m. (NHL Network)
- BOSTON (12-2-0 24P) at BUFFALO (7-7-0 14P) 7 p.m.
- Pittsburgh (6-6-2 14P) at MONTREAL (7-6-1 15P) 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
- Vancouver (4-7-3 11P) at TORONTO (7-5-3 17P) 7 p.m.
- DETROIT (7-4-3-6 17P) at Los Angeles (9-6-1 19P) 10:30 p.m./
Idle: TBL (15P)
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