Panthers (4-5-0 8P) vs Red Wings (4-6-1 9P)
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 6:30ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Detroit
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 640 WMEN (PB), 1370 WAXE (TC), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #LGRW, #DETvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Winging It In Motown
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 4 (0-0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs DET (RS): 15W-16L-5T 2OTL 2SOL 104GF 119GA
- ALL-TIME at FLA (RS): 6W-10L-2T 2OTL 1SOL 55GF 64GA
- LAST MEETING: DET 4, Host FLA 3 (SO) (Recap) – 12/23/2016
- NEXT MEETING: December 11, 2017
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Reimer (3-3-0 .904/3.47 0SO) vs Howard (3-4-0 .924/2.62 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Detroit/
*
Scouting Report:
Perhaps now — with four more home games in a row — is when the Florida Panthers make their move up the standings.
The Panthers are just 4-5-0 overall, but they are 3-1-0 at home after routing the Anaheim Ducks 8-3 on Thursday. It was Florida’s most goals since 2009.
On Saturday night, the Panthers continue their five-game homestand by hosting the Detroit Red Wings, who have lost six straight contests, earning just one point during that span.
Detroit will have to contend with a top Panthers line that seems to be clicking. Center Aleksander Barkov and left winger Jonathan Huberdeau are tied for the team lead with 10 points each, and right winger Evgenii Dadonov has nine.
Last season, Detroit missed the playoffs for the first time since 1989-1990 — an impressive run halted.
This season, the Red Wings are relatively healthy — only defenseman Danny DeKeyser(lower body) shows up on the injury report — but are still struggling with a 4-6-1 record and their recent slump.
Jimmy Howard, 33, is still a solid goalie, but Detroit’s defense has become slow and plodding, and Detroit is below average offensively as well. (More via AP)
*
Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- San Jose (4-5-0 8P) at BUFFALO (3-6-2 8P) 1 p.m.
- Los Angeles (8-1-1 17P) at BOSTON (4-3-1 9P) 7 p.m.
- Philadelphia (5-5-0 10P) at TORONTO (7-3-0 14P) 7 p.m.
- New York Rangers (3-6-2 8P) at MONTREAL (2-7-1 5P) 7 p.m.
- Anaheim (4-6-1 9P) at TAMPA BAY (9-1-1 19P) 7 p.m.
- Idle: OTT (15P)/
*
Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets