Thanks to Detroit’s 4-1 win over the New York Rangers, the Florida Panthers (29-25-6) head into tonight’s game with the Buffalo Sabres (29-23-4) at FLA Live Arena outside the playoff cut line. The Cats and Red Wings both have 64 points, but Detroit has played three fewer games. Buffalo, who pulled out a 6-5 overtime victory over Tampa Bay last night, is just two points behind the pair and holds four games in hand on the Panthers and one game in hand on the Red Wings. Paul Maurice’s bunch is going to need to play a whole lot better than they did on Monday against Anaheim to win this über-important matchup. Anthony Duclair is expected to make his season debut tonight.
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Bally Sports Florida, MSG-Buffalo
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #LetsGoBuffalo, #BUFvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Die By The Blade
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 4 (2-0-0)
- LAST MEETING: FLA 4, @BUF 1 – (Recap) 1/16/2023
- NEXT MEETING: April 4, 2023
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Sergei Bobrovsky (17-15-2 .902/3.12 1SO) vs Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (14-8-2 .894/3.55 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Buffalo/
Friday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- Minnesota (32-21-5 69P) at TORONTO (35-15-8 78P) 7 p.m.
- OTTAWA (27-25-4 58P) at Carolina (38-10-8 84P) 7 p.m.
- MONTREAL (24-29-4 52P) at Philadelphia (23-26-10 56P) 7 p.m./
Idle: BOS (93P), TBL (76P), DET (64P), MTL (52)
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