Florida Panthers (13-9-4 30P) vs New Jersey Devils (13-10-3 29P)
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 6:30ish
- WHERE: Prudential Center – Newark, NJ/
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- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, MSG+
- ON THE DIAL: 560, 640, 760, 1210 (AM); 97.7, 107.9 (FM); Official App (iOS, Android)
- SOCIALLY SPEAKING: #FlaPanthers, #NJDevils, #FLAvsNJD, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook page
- ENEMY INTEL: All About The Jersey (formerly In Lou We Trust), Three Questions w/AATJ
- SB NATION: Game Hub /
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- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs NJD: 28W-44L-7T 5OTL 2SOL 186GF 247GA
- ALL-TIME at NJD: 11W-26L-3T 3OTL 0SOL 84GF 136GA
- LAST FIVE vs NJD: 2-3-0 13GF 19GA/
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- PROJECTED STARTERS: Luongo (10-8-3 .929/2.24 1SO), Schneider (11-7-3 .924/2.12 1SO)
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs NJD (reg season): 100GP 36G-55A 91P 8GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / New Jersey /
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- NOTES: With a victory Florida would establish a franchise record for consecutive wins on the road (6), but let’s not get ahead of ourselves; Newark’s Prudential Center – much like Scottrade Center, Bridgestone Arena & Nationwide Arena prior to this week – has been a torture chamber for the Cats, currently on an 0-4-1 regular season run since their last victory at New Jersey on February 11, 2012. Speaking of those three seemingly unbeatable towns, the Panthers were collectively 0-13-2 (with 2 ties) in St. Louis, Nashville and Columbus before this most recent trip, so there’s that.
- QUOTED:/
“The Devils have rolled out the welcome mat for a lot of visitors at The Rock so far this season, winning just five of their first 14 games there (5-6-3). That includes losses in their last four at home (0-2-2). What makes that more frustrating for the Devils is that they have been a very good road team, going 8-4-0 outside of Newark. That includes victories at Madison Square Garden over the Rangers, United Center over the reigning Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks and Bell Centre over the East-leading Montreal Canadiens.”
– Tom Gulitti, Fire & Ice (more).
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Last game for the Cats: 2-1 (SO) victory in Columbus on Friday. Past five: 5-0-0 12GF 6GA (streak: 5W)
Last game for the Devils: 4-3 (OT) home loss to Philadelphia Friday. Past five: 2-1-2 14GF 12GA (streak: 1L)
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NHL.com Preview:
The New Jersey Devils won two of three games against the Florida Panthers last season. Forward Jaromir Jagr scored for the Devils in the 3-1 win Jan. 31 at Prudential Center then, after being traded to the Panthers in February, had a goal and an assist against them in Florida’s 3-2 win on April 11 at BB&T Center. Eric Gelinas, Damon Severson and Mike Cammalleri had two points each for New Jersey. (more)
Yahoo! Sports Preview:
Luongo is just 10-15-0 against New Jersey (13-10-3) and produced a 5.17 GAA in two losses last season, but he’ll be facing a Devils team that’s had problems scoring on home ice. New Jersey’s 2.00 goals per game at home ranks 29th in the NHL, and they’ve netted just seven over a 0-2-2 stretch there. The Devils did receive power-play scores from Kyle Palmieri and Mike Cammalleri in the third period of Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Philadelphia, earning a point for the fourth time in five games. (more)
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Sunday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- OTTAWA (14-7-5 33P) at NY Rangers (17-7-3 37P), 7:00
- BUFFALO (11-12-3 25P) at Edmonton (10-15-2 22P), 8:00
- TAMPA BAY (13-11-3 29P) at Los Angeles (16-8-1 33P), 10:00
- Idle: MON (41P), DET (34P), BOS (31P), TOR (23P)
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Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets
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