Saturday Caterwaul: Panthers GameDay Open Forum
Florida forward Shawn Matthias has struggled offensively as much as any of his teammates in recent games, going pointless over the last three since scoring against Ottawa on February 15. His numbers for the season appear to favor meetings with Saturday night's opponent, however: 2G/1A, plus-3 and a gamewinner in 2 matches vs the Hurricanes. Career against Carolina? 8 points (4G) in 13 games; not too lousy for a third (and at times, fourth) line center.
The Eastern Front
Rank | Team | GP | W | L | OT | PTS | GF | GA | Home | Away | L10 | Streak |
1 | NY Rangers | 59 | 38 | 15 | 6 | 82 | 164 | 122 | 19-7-2 | 19-8-4 | 6-3-1 | OT 1 |
2 | Boston | 59 | 36 | 20 | 3 | 75 | 195 | 136 | 18-10-2 | 18-10-1 | 4-5-1 | OT 1 |
3 | Winnipeg | 63 | 30 | 26 | 7 | 67 | 161 | 178 | 19-9-3 | 11-17-4 | 6-3-1 | Won 1 |
4 | New Jersey | 60 | 35 | 21 | 4 | 74 | 169 | 164 | 16-11-3 | 19-10-1 | 7-2-1 | Lost 1 |
5 | Philadelphia | 60 | 33 | 20 | 7 | 73 | 198 | 183 | 14-10-5 | 19-10-2 | 3-6-1 | Lost 1 |
6 | Pittsburgh | 60 | 34 | 21 | 5 | 73 | 186 | 160 | 18-8-2 | 16-13-3 | 5-4-1 | Won 1 |
7 | Ottawa | 62 | 32 | 22 | 8 | 72 | 190 | 185 | 16-11-3 | 16-11-5 | 5-3-2 | Won 4 |
8 | Florida | 59 | 27 | 20 | 12 | 66 | 146 | 165 | 14-8-8 | 13-12-4 | 4-5-1 | OT 1 |
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9 | Washington | 61 | 30 | 26 | 5 | 65 | 165 | 174 | 20-8-2 | 10-18-3 | 3-6-1 | Won 1 |
10 | Toronto | 61 | 29 | 25 | 7 | 65 | 182 | 186 | 16-10-5 | 13-15-2 | 3-6-1 | Lost 1 |
11 | Buffalo | 61 | 27 | 27 | 7 | 61 | 152 | 177 | 16-11-7 | 11-16-0 | 6-3-1 | Won 3 |
12 | Tampa Bay | 60 | 27 | 27 | 6 | 60 | 169 | 201 | 18-9-2 | 9-18-4 | 5-4-1 | Lost 1 |
13 | NY Islanders | 61 | 26 | 27 | 8 | 60 | 144 | 179 | 14-14-5 | 12-13-3 | 5-5-0 | Won 1 |
14 | Carolina | 61 | 23 | 26 | 12 | 58 | 160 | 184 | 16-12-4 | 7-14-8 | 5-2-3 | OT 1 |
15 | Montreal | 62 | 24 | 28 | 10 | 58 | 161 | 171 | 11-14-8 | 13-14-2 | 5-4-1 | Lost 3 |
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Why last night rocked:
- VAN over NJ, 2-1 (REG); a positive if only because someone had to slow down the Devils, owners of a 9-1-1 record before Friday/
Why last night jonesed:
- WSH over MTL, 4-1; wheels continue to spin for Habs, we'll see how they respond tomorrow in Sunrise/
Panthers Playoff Update:
- FLA did not play; playoff odds down 1.1 to 66.7% per Sports Club Stats /
Why tonight is a Big Deal in SoFla, beyond the obvious:
Focusing on clubs within 6 points of Panthers (66P); teams FLA needs to lose in bold…
- STL at WPG (67P), 2 p.m.; you know the drill here
- WSH (65P) at TOR (65P), 7; either club winning in regulation is technically fine, but we're traveling the Win The Division route and siding with the Leafs
- BUF (61P) at NYR, 7; Gotta admit: Sabres caught me off-guard here/
Next up for the Cats:
- Tonight vs CAR from Raleigh; LBC Game Thread powers up (get it?) at 6:30. Check out our pals at Canes Country for the local op/ed./
Did you know:
- Per Yahoo!: "While [Kirk] Muller’s club has a conference-low 58 points, the Hurricanes have points in 14 of their last 17 games and play their next four at home. Carolina is 11-3-2 in Raleigh since losing five straight there." Panthers are 2-0 (one in OT) vs the Canes in 2011-12.
Friday’s Organizational News:
- NSH sends F Jerred Smithson to FLA for 6th-rd pick ('12)
- D Tyson Strachan reassigned to San Antonio
- Rampage victorious on the road, defeat Peoria 2-1
- Should he play, F Jon Matsumoto will face his (recently) former club for the first time
Today's Updates:
- Panthers have acquired F Wojtek Wolski from NYR
- F Michal Repik & D Jon Matsumoto reassigned to SA/
Friday’s NHL Transaction:
- MIN sends D Marek Zidlicky to NJ for - get this - D Kurtis Foster, F Nick Palmieri, F Stephane Veilleux, 2nd-rd pick ('12) & 3rd-rd pick ('13/conditional)
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