Florida Panthers (25-12-4 54P) at Edmonton Oilers (17-22-3 37P)
- WHEN: 9:30 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 9ish
- WHERE: Rexall Place – Edmonton, AB/
*
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, SN1
- ON THE DIAL: Check local listings – 560, 640, 760, 1210 (AM); 97.7, 107.9 (FM); Official App
- SOCIALLY SPEAKING: #FlaPanthers, #Oilers, #FLAvsEDM, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook page
- ENEMY INTEL: The Copper & Blue
- SB NATION: Game Hub /
*
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 2 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs EDM: 9W-9L-3T 1OTL 4SOL 61GF 77GA
- ALL-TIME at EDM: 4W-7L-1T 0OTL 0SOL 26GF 37GA
- LAST FIVE vs EDM: 1-1-3 11GF 15GA/
*
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Montoya (6-1-1 .938/1.69 0SO), Talbot (7-12-2 .909/2.78 1SO)
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs EDM (regular season): 34GP 15G-24A 39P 3GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Edmonton /
*
NOTES:
F Taylor Hall leads the Oilers in all three offensive categories with 16G-25A-41P in 42GP; he also paces the club with a plus-9, 5GWG and a staggering 173 SOG. Teddy Purcell is second in that category with 95. Hall has 4 points, all assists, in four games vs Florida. G Cam Talbot – acquired from the Rangers in June – has one win in his only appearance against the Cats; Florida counters with Al Montoya, who has never faced Edmonton (Roberto Luongo is scheduled to get the start in Vancouver tomorrow), will go this evening.
NHL.com Preview:
Edmonton, which had a six-game winning streak from Dec. 2-14, will try to end the Panthers’ streak. “We had our own little streak there and teams got up for you to try and knock you off the pedestal,” coach Todd McLellan told the Oilers website. “That will be a challenge for us.” (More)
Yahoo.com Preview:
Huberdeau and Jaromir Jagr had Sunday’s goals as the Panthers won despite finishing with 14 shots for their lowest total in three seasons. “It was a grinder-type game and we did what we had to do to win,” center Nick Bjugsatd said. “We didn’t necessarily play well, but you’re going to have those games where you don’t feel the greatest but you have to sneak them out.” (More)
The Panthers are 2-5-5 since 2002-03 against the Oilers, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2005-06. They lost 3-2 in a shootout Jan. 17 but did earn just their second win in their past 10 visits to Edmonton six days earlier. “Every time you face a team that’s on a winning streak you want to be that team to beat them,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. “It’s definitely very exciting for us and we’re going to do whatever we can to beat them.” (More)
*
Last game for the Cats: 3-2 (reg) victory in Ottawa on Thursday. Past five: 5-0-0 16GF 5GA (streak: 11W)
Last game for the Oil: 3-2 (reg) home loss to Tampa Bay on Friday. Past five: 2-3-0 9GF 12GA (streak: 1L)
*
Sunday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- BUFFALO (15-22-4 34P) at Winnipeg (19-19-3 41P), 3:00
- OTTAWA (20-16-6 46P) at Washington (31-7-3 65P), 7:00
- DETROIT (21-13-7 49P) at Anaheim (17-16-7 41P), 8:00
- Idle: MON (49P), BOS (47P), TBL (46P), TOR (39P)/
*
Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets
*