The Florida Panthers host the Edmonton Oilers for the first of two meetings between the clubs tonight at 7:30 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL. The Oilers will welcome Florida for a return engagement in Edmonton on November 21st. The Cats have lost five in a row, while managing to collect points in three of them. After tonight’s matchup, they’ll head out on a three-game road trip, visiting the Boston Bruins on Thursday, the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon, and the New York Rangers Sunday night. Edmonton has also lost five in a row, but something’s gotta give, right? They’re opening a four-game road trip of their own, with a shot at the Bolts in Tampa Bay on Thursday, a matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers in a Saturday matinee, and a showdown with the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
Edmonton and Florida last faced off way back on March 23rd, 2012. Jason Garrison tallied the lone Florida goal with assists from Tomas Fleischmann and also since-departed Stephen Weiss, and Jose Theodore turned aside 20-of-21 Edmonton shots to get the Cats to a shootout. Mikael Samuelsson, Wojtek Wolski (also both since-departed), Dmitry Kulikov and Weiss were all unsuccessful against Oiler backstop Devan Dubnyk. Unfortunately, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put one by Theodore in the fourth round to end Florida’s chances. * Full Recap * Box Score
Oilers @ Panthers 03/23/12 (via NHL)
“Most of the guys went to his glove side,” said Nugent-Hopkins, the first player taken in last June’s NHL Draft. “I just went down there and saw the backhand was going to possibly be open, so I just tried it.”
Check out The Copper & Blue for more Oilers.
The Panthers last game would see them come back twice before eventually losing to the Washington Capitals in the shootout. Jesse Winchester scored on a breakaway on a steal and pass by Scottie Upshall, and Tomas Fleischmann scored on a four-on-three power play with less than three minutes left in regulation. Aleksander Barkov scored in the shootout, but Scott Clemmensen allowed three markers on three attempts, by Mikhail Grabovski, Brooks Laich, and Nicklas Backstrom. * Full Recap * Box Score
Panthers @ Capitals Highlights 11/02/13 (via NHL)
Tomas Fleischmann talked about winning after the game:
“What we have to do is believe that if we are going to play well, the wins are going to come,” Fleischmann said. “I think we took a good step in the right direction tonight. We played like a team pretty good all 60 minutes, and I think that’s how we get two points next game.”
Red Wings @ Oilers Highlights 11/02/13 (via NHL)
Oilers defenseman Ladislav Smid spoke a little later:
It’s tough, it was embarrassing, I have no words for it and there is no excuses for us. People talk about injuries and bad luck and stuff and we can’t talk about that anymore. We all have to wake up in here. I don’t think there is one person that can be proud of what he did on the ice.
Check out Winging it in Motown for more on the Red Wings.
Broadcast: SNET-W,FS-F
All-Time Series: Florida has faced the Oilers 22 times, and own an 8-8-3-3 record in those contests.
Season Series: First of two
Standings:
Florida Panthers: 3-8-3, .321, nine points, on pace for 53 points. Seventh in the Atlantic Division, 14th in the Eastern Conference, 27th in the NHL. Last Five: O-L-O-L-O.
Edmonton Oilers: 3-10-2, .267, eight points, on pace for 44 points. Seventh in the Pacific Division, 14th in the Western Conference, tied for 28th in the NHL. Last Five: L-L-O-L-L.
Panthers Milestones:
Goals: Marcel Goc will move into Florida’s top 50 with his next goal, number 24. Tomas Kopecky has 25, in 49th, and will pass Mike Van Ryn with his next. Kris Versteeg has 27, and will tie Brian McCabe in 44th with his next. Shawn Matthias has 40 goals, and is tied with Juraj Kolnik in 29th. Tomas Fleischmann will move into 27th with his next goal, number 43, passing Gord Murphy.
Assists: Shawn Matthias has 44 assists, and is tied with Jody Hull, Chris Gratton, and Ivan Novoseltsev in 46th. Tomas Fleischmann has 64, and will tie Dmitry Kulikov and Ed Jovanovski in a tie for 29th with his next. Brian Campbell is tied with Johan Garpenlov in 20th with 74, and will tie Rostislav Olesz with one more.
Penalty Minutes: Erik Gudbranson will pass Bret Hedican into 35th all-time with five more minutes in the box, giving him 170.
Birthdays: Brand new Winnipeg Jet Keaton Ellerby (125 games with Florida, two goals, 15 assists), turns 25 today.
Today in Panther history
Florida is on November 5th’s throughout their history, and have won their last two with a combined 11-7 score.
Starting Lineups
Panthers
Forwards
Defensemen
Goaltenders
- 25 – 30
Oilers
Forwards
- Ryan Jones – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
- Nail Yakupov – Sam Gagner – Ales Hemsky
- Curtis Hamilton – Boyd Gordon – Mark Arcobello
- Luke Gazdic – Will Acton – Ben Eager
- Andrew Ference – Nick Schultz
- Ladislav Smid – Jeff Petry
- Anton Belov – Phillip Larsen
Panthers Leaders
Goals: Brad Boyes – 5, Five skaters tied with three
Assists: Tomas Fleischmann – 7, Brian Campbell – 6, Aleksander Barkov – 4
Points: Tomas Fleischmann – 10, Aleksander Barkov, Brad Boyes – 7
Faceoffs: Nick Bjugstad – 54.3% (51-for-94), Marcel Goc – 52.1% (124-for-238), Jesse Winchester – 46.2% (18-for-39)
Shots on Goal: Tomas Fleischmann – 44, Tomas Kopecky, Kris Versteeg – 35
Hits: Mike Weaver – 37, Erik Gudbranson – 30, Shawn Matthias – 24
Blocked Shots: Mike Weaver – 40, Tom Gilbert – 24, Erik Gudbranson – 22
Splits
Brad Boyes has nine goals and 10 assists in 20 career games against the Copper and Blue.
In five career matchups against Edmonton, Tomas Fleischmann has three goals and two assists.
Kris Versteeg has four goals and three helpers in 13 career matchups against the Oilers.
Scott Gomez has faced Edmonton 16 times, and has scored one goal with 10 assists.
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