Panthers (33-26-8 74P) vs Canadiens (31-29-9 71P)
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: BB&T Center, Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, CBC, TVAS, SN, SN360
- ON THE DIAL: 790 WAXY (D/B), 640 WMEN (PB), 1370 WAXE (TC), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #GoHabsGo, #MONvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Eyes On The Prize
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 4 (1-1-0)
- LAST MEETING: @MON 4, FLA 0 – (Recap) 2/1/2020
- NEXT MEETING: March 26, 2020
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Driedger (5-2-1 .932/ 2.29 1SO) vs Lindgren (2-3-0 .884/ 3.37 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Montreal/
Scouting Report
Two teams struggling to get into playoff contention in the Eastern Conference will meet on Saturday night when the Montreal Canadiens visit the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla.
The Panthers have lost eight straight home games to break the previous franchise record, which was set in 2003.
Prior to Saturday’s game, the Panthers will retire former goalie Roberto Luongo’s No. 1 jersey.
But aside from the attention that ceremony will receive from fans, the Panthers (74 points) are in a desperate push to try to catch the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division. Montreal (71 points) also trails Toronto (79 points entering Friday).
On Thursday, the Panthers played well defensively but lost 2-1 in overtime to the visiting Boston Bruins, who have the most points of any team in the NHL.
Montreal lost 4-0 on Thursday at the Tampa Bay Lightning.
”The compete level and the work ethic — I have nothing to complain about,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said of his team. “We tried hard.”
The Canadiens played without their top two goal-scorers — wingers Tomas Tatar (upper body) and Brendan Gallagher (flu). Each of them has 22 goals.
Full Preview: Field Level Media
Huberdeau featured on NHL Network
Jonathan Huberdeau will be featured in a “Playmakers” edition of NHL Network Ice Time, NHL Network’s weekly show geared toward kids, today at 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. ET. Huberdeau discusses junior hockey and learning English with NHL Network’s Mike Johnson.
Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- OTTAWA (24-32-12 60P) at San Jose (29-34-4 62P) 7 p.m.
- TAMPA BAY (42-20-5 85P) at BOSTON (43-13-12 98P) 7 p.m. NHL Network
- BUFFALO (29-30-8 66P) at Philadelphia (40-20-7 87P) 7 p.m./
Idle: TOR (79P), DET (37P)
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