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Friday Caterwaul: Florida Panthers Open Forum

Jan 11, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) passes the puck against the Los Angeles Kings during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was named captain for Team Finland for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday. Barkov became the first Finnish captain to lift the Stanley Cup in June after the Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, so this was the right move for the Finnish tea, which also includes Anton Lundell, Niko Mikkola and Eetu Luostarinen.

It was a mixed bag on the scoreboard for the idle Panthers last night. The Boston Bruins got handled 6-2 on home ice by the Winnipeg Jets, but the Tampa Bay Lightning took care of Los Angeles by the same 3-0 score that the Cats did on Wednesday. That allowed the Bolts to leapfrog the Bruins and move into third place in an Atlantic Division that is growing tighter by the day. In other action from the division, the Detroit Red Wings overcame an early deficit to nip the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 and the Montreal Canadiens got blanked 4-0 by the visiting Minnesota Wild.

Friday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)

  • Nashville (18-24-7 43P) at BUFFALO (19-26-5 43P) 7 p.m. (NHL Network)

Idle: FLA (63), TOR (62P), OTT (58P), TBL (57P), BOS (56P), DET (55P), MON (53P)

On Tuesday, the Charlotte Checkers completed a perfect four-game road trip by defeating the Iowa Wild by a 4-2 count at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Justin Sourdif scored twice; Will Lockwood had a goal and an assist; and Matt Kiersted finished with two assists in the win. Rasmus Asplund notched the other Charlotte goal and Trevor Carrick and C.J. Smith also had helpers. Rookie Cooper Black made 20 saves to up his record to 4-2-1. The Checkers (23-12-3-2) will host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins tonight and tomorrow at Bojangles Coliseum.

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