Panthers (11-10-1 23P) at Blackhawks (14-6-3 31P)
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- WHEN: 8:30 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 8ish
- WHERE: United Center – Chicago, IL
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, Comcast Chicago, NHL.TV
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- GOODIES: Panthers Holiday Plan deal now on sale (more)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #Blackhawks, #FLAvsCHI, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Second City Hockey
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 2 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs CHI (RS): 10W-17L-3T 0OTL 3SOL 77GF 109GA
- ALL-TIME at CHI (RS): 5W-9L-2T 0OTL 1SOL 44GF 57GA
- LAST FIVE vs CHI (RS): 1-3-1 10GF 15GA
- LAST MEETING: FLA 4, CHI 0 at Sunrise (Todd’s Recap) – 01/22/2016
- NEXT MEETING: Saturday 03/25/2017 in Sunrise
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Luongo (8-6-0 .926/2.20 0SO), Crawford (10-6-2 .924/2.31 2SO)
- TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs CHI (RS): 31GP 14G-14A 287P +13 2GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Chicago/
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Scouting Report:
- Chicago has tallied 31 points in its first 23 games to jump atop the Western Conference’s Central Division. The club has won three Stanley Cup championships in seven seasons and seems to be well on its way to its ninth consecutive playoff appearance. Not everything has been perfect for the Blackhawks this season as they return to home ice for the first time in more than two weeks. Center Jonathan Toews, the team’s star captain, has missed the past two games because of an upper-body injury and is questionable to play against the Panthers. Toews did not practice Monday. He has 12 points (4 G, 8 A) in 21 games this season and serves as the team’s best faceoff option as well as a valuable penalty killer. “When you’re missing a guy like that, you’ve got to find other ways to work around it,” center Marcus Kruger told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I think we did a good job (in the last two games), but we obviously want him back as soon as we can.” (Yahoo! Sports)/
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Last game for the Cats: 3-2 (REG) loss at Carolina Sunday. Past five: 3-2-0 (streak: 1L)
Last game for the Hawks: 2-1 (OT) loss at Los Angeles Saturday. Past five: 2-2-1 (streak: 1L)
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Tuesday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- TAMPA BAY (13-9-1 27P) at Columbus (11-5-4 26P), 7:00
- BOSTON (12-10-0 24P) at Philadelphia (10-10-3 23P), 7:30 NBCSN
- BUFFALO (7-9-5 19P) at OTTAWA (14-7-1 29P), 7:30
- Dallas (9-8-6 24P) at DETROIT (10-10-2 22P), 7:30
- TORONTO (9-8-4 22P) at Edmonton (12-9-2 26P), 9:00 NBCSN (in progress)
- MONTREAL (16-4-2 34P) at Anaheim (10-8-4 24P), 10:00
- Idle: none/
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