After a disappointing loss to Detroit, the Florida Panthers (26-17-3) finish off a brief homestand at Amerant Bank Arena when they play host to the Anaheim Ducks (18-21-6) in the first of two consecutive meetings between the two 1993 expansion cousins.
Florida’s penalty kill got shredded to bits by the red-hot Red Wings in Thursday night’s 5-2 defeat. Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues lit the lamp, but the Cats sputtering offense couldn’t keep up, leaving them with a 4-6-1 record over their last eleven games. Sergei Bobrovsky got the hook after giving up a late second period goal to Marco Kasper and has lost his last three starts.
The not-so-mighty Ducks, who are closing out a six-game road trip, enter tonight’s tilt losers of five of their last six, with a 3-2 overtime win in Carolina on Sunday being the only victory during that discouraging span. On Thursday, Anaheim put up a good fight against the Tampa Bay Lightning before ultimately falling 4-3 in a shootout. Troy Terry, who opened the scoring against the Bolts, leads the team in goals (15), assists (19) and points (34) in 41 games played.
- WHEN: 6 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps, Victory+
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 FM (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #FlyTogether, #ANAvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 2
- LAST MEETING: ANA 5, @FLA 4 (OT) – (Recap) 1/15/2024
- NEXT MEETING: January 21, 2025
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Knight (8-6-1 .897 / 2.60 1SO) Anaheim: Gibson (7-7-2 .908 / 2.90 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Anaheim
Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- OTTAWA 6, BOSTON 5
- TORONTO (28-16-2 58P) at MONTREAL (22-18-4 48P) 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
- DETROIT (21-19-4 46P) at TAMPA BAY (24-16-3 51P) 7 p.m.
Idle: BUF (39P)