Panthers (11-10-2 24P) at Red Wings (11-10-2 24P)
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- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 7ish
- WHERE: Joe Louis Arena – Detroit, MI
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Detroit
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- GOODIES: Panthers Holiday Plan deal on sale (more)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #RedWings, #FLAvsDET, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Winging it in Motown
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3(!) of 4 (2-0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs DET (RS): 14W-16L-5T 2OTL 1SOL 99GF 114GA
- ALL-TIME at DET (RS): 8W-6L-3T 0OTL 1SOL 47GF 54GA
- LAST FIVE vs DET (RS): 3-2-0 18GF 14GA
- LAST MEETING: FLA 5, DET 2 at The Joe (Kevin’s Recap) – 10/30/2016
- NEXT MEETING: Friday 12/23/2016 in Sunrise
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Luongo (8-6-1 .929/2.11 0SO), Mrazek (6-5-2 .905/2.91 0SO)
- TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs DET (RS): 42GP 12G-25A 37P +3 0GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Detroit/
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Scouting Report:
During their practice on Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena, the Panthers worked on new defensive schemes and changed their power play personnel a little bit. “We went over a lot of details in our video meeting on defensive zone coverages and neutral zone assignments and this was a good day to do that,” Rowe told the Miami Herald. Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo talked about the changes. “It’s a bit of a different style than (former coach Gerard) Gallant was and it’s going to take some time to implement what they want to show us,” Luongo said. “In the long run, it will be beneficial to our club to play a game where we are more structured and give us fewer scoring chances.”
Detroit is 3-0-1 in its last four games following a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars at Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday night. That was thanks mostly to the efforts of goaltender Petr Mrazek, who made 34 saves. He has a 1.45 goals-against average and .949 save percentage in his last two games in the absence of Jimmy Howard, who is out with a groin injury. “I think when he’s playing his best hockey the puck sticks to him well,” coach Jeff Blashill told www.mlive.com on Wednesday. “I also thought he had a high, high compete level around the net, where it seemed like there was no way the puck was going in unless it was a back-door or some kind of rebound play. (More via Yahoo! Sports/AP)
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Last game for the Cats: 2-1 (SO) loss at Chicago Tuesday in Tom Rowe’s NHL coaching debut. Past five: 2-2-1 (streak: 2L)
Last game for the Wings: 3-1 home victory over Dallas Tuesday. Past five: 3-1-1 (streak: 1W)
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Thursday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- Carolina (9-9-4 22P) at BOSTON (12-10-1 25P), 7:00
- NY Rangers (16-7-1 33P) at BUFFALO (8-9-5 21P), 7:00
- Philadelphia (11-10-3 25P) at OTTAWA (14-8-1 29P), 7:30
- TAMPA BAY (13-10-1 27P) at St. Louis (13-7-3 29P), 8:00
- Idle: MTL (34P), TOR (24P)/
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