Panthers (15-15-6 36P) at Flyers (15-16-5 35P)
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, NBCSP
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 640 WMEN (PB), 1370 WAXE (TC), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #LetsGoFlyers, #PHIvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Broad Street Hockey
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 3 (1-0-1)
- LAST MEETING: FLA 2, @PHI 1 – (Recap) – 11/13/2018
- NEXT MEETING: Playoffs or 2019-20
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Reimer (6-7-3 .888/3.45 0SO) vs Hart (2-1-0 .904/2.36 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Philadelphia/
Scouting Report (Courtesy of Stats LLC)
With just a few games left before the halfway point of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Florida Panthers get set to meet on Saturday night — and neither team is in playoff position.
The Panthers, who will host the Flyers, are 15-15-6 with 36 points following a 5-3 home loss on Friday night to a team they are chasing in the Eastern Conference, the Montreal Canadiens.
”We didn’t make it that tough on (Montreal),” said Panthers forward Mike Hoffman, who had two assists. “We gave them too many easy goals. Hopefully we can clean it up.”
Panthers coach Bob Boughner was furious at his team after the loss, especially because Florida fell behind 2-0 with less than three minutes played.
”Some guys weren’t ready to play when the puck dropped,” Boughner said, not naming names. “It’s great that we came back, 2-2, but we didn’t play a good game. Everybody knows that.
”Our fourth goal was a backbreaker. We had two (defensemen) caught behind the net — just unaware, dumb hockey.”
Boughner then returned to the theme of those first three, brutal minutes.
”I’d like to say it was a bad team start, but it was a couple of individuals (who started poorly),” he said. “That screwed the rest of us.
“We didn’t even get a chance to get our third and fourth lines on the ice before it was 2-0. I’d love to say our team wasn’t ready. But a couple of guys weren’t ready, and it cost us.”
Meanwhile, the Flyers are 15-16-5, with 35 points, following a 6-5 overtime loss to the host Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
Philadelphia erased a four-goal deficit against the team with the best record in the NHL, earning a hard-fought point.
”This proves that our team doesn’t quit,” Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov said. “We play to the end.”
Added Philadelphia’s Robert Hagg: “As soon as we got the first goal, we said, ‘OK, we can actually do this again.’”
The only negative for the Flyers was the fact that 20-year-old center Nolan Patrickleft the game with an upper-body injury.
Patrick, who has five goals and six assists in this his second NHL season, is questionable for the Panthers game.
Florida’s biggest injury issue revolves around second-line center Vincent Trocheck, who was an All-Star in 2017 and combined to score 54 goals the past two years.
Trocheck hasn’t played since Nov. 19 due to a fractured right ankle, but he could return to game action in early February, Boughner said. Trocheck could start skating in a week.
The Panthers on Saturday are expected to star backup goalie James Reimer, resting Roberto Luongo, who took the loss on Friday.
One bright spot for the Panthers on Friday — and perhaps carrying on into Saturday — was the play of a pair of 21-year-olds, Henrik Borgstrom and Denis Malgin, who both scored first-period goals.
That secondary scoring is important because the Panthers normally rely on four forwards: Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov, who share the team lead with 17 goals each; Jonathan Huberdeau, who tops Florida in assists (33) and points (42); and captain Aleksander Barkov, who is second with 37 points.
Claude Giroux has 13 goals and leads the Flyers in points (44) and assists (31). Sean Couturier leads the team with 14 goals and is third with 28 points. Jakob Voracek has nine goals and is second on the team with 29 points.
Tuesday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- BOSTON (20-14-4 44P) at BUFFALO (21-12-5 47P) 7 p.m.
- MONTREAL (20-13-5 45P) at TAMPA BAY (29-7-2 60P) 7 p.m.
- New York Islanders (19-13-4 42P) at TORONTO (26-10-2 54P) 7 p.m.
- Washington (23-10-3 49P) at OTTAWA (15-19-4 34P) 7 p.m.
- DETROIT (15-18-6 36P) at Dallas (19-16-3 41P) 8 p.m./
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