Florida: 6-4-0 (12PTS)
Winnipeg: 3-6-2 (7PTS)
Season Series: 0-0-0
Game Time: 7:30 PM EDT
Television: Fox Sports Florida, TSN-Jets
Radio: 560 WQAM
The Panthers meet the new Winnipeg Jets/former Atlanta Thrashers in the first of six divisional matchups this season. The Cats have struggled to draw people to games against the Thrashers, and even with a move and a makeover, a Monday night game on Halloween will probably fail to draw much of a crowd. This is unfortunate, since the Panthers have a winning record after 10 games for the first time in a long time, but the fact is that the Thursday night matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks is going to be a better home draw for people looking to attend one game this week.
Last season, the Panthers went an even 2-2-2, while the Thrashers were 4-1-1 last season. This year, the Cats are a completely different team, while the Jets have struggled out the gate for only 7 points in 11 games and only the Boston Bruins‘ Stanley Cup hangover between them and the bottom of the Eastern Conference. This is the third divisional game for the Jets (1-1-0) and fourth for the Panthers (2-1-0). The Cats have struggled in the division in recent years, and no matter the Jets’ place in the standings, the Panthers need to take these games as seriously as they do games against the Atlantic Division teams, because as they showed in the 9-8 against the Flyers a few days ago, they have a number of scoring threats distributed throughout the roster and they’ll take advantage of any room they’re given.
More from our Winnipeg cohorts at Arctic Ice Hockey.
Jets vs Panthers coverage coverage at SB Nation.
TSN Preview.
LBC Game Thread will open 30 minutes prior to puck drop.
News and Notes
Last meeting
The Panthers lost 4-3 in overtime in their final game at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Andrew Ladd had the winning goal in overtime and Chris Mason the win.
Last game
The Panthers stole 2 points in Buffalo on Saturday, beating the Sabres 3-2 largely on the strength of some stupid penalties by Nathan Gerbe and Drew Stafford that negated an extended Sabres power play after a boarding major on Marco Sturm. The Panthers tied the game and grabbed a lead late, then hung on for the win. The win made up for their loss against the Senators and gave them a winning record (2-1-0) on the three game road trip. Jose Theodore, back in after a few Jacob Markstrom starts, made 24 saves.
Lineup
No changes are expected to the lineup. Mike Santorelli is back from his injury, while Tim Kennedy remains in for Sean Bergenheim. Scott Clemmensen is still at least a week from being able to play, but both he and Bergenheim participated in this morning’s skate.
Injuries
- G Scott Clemmensen (knee), 9/26, 3-8 weeks
- Mikael Samuelsson (rehab from abdominal surgery), 10/24, week to week
- Sean Bergenheim (core), 10/20, 1-2 weeks
Healthy Scratches
Starting goaltenders:
Jose Theodore will start in goal for the Panthers. After a day off following the Saturday 1-0 loss to the Lightning, Ondrej Pavelec will likely be back out to start for the Jets.
Lines
Forwards
- Fleischmann-Weiss-Versteeg
- Kopecky-Goc-Upshall
- Matthias-Kennedy-Bradley
- Sturm-Santorelli-Skille
Defense
- Campbell-Garrison
- Jovanovski-Gudbranson
- Kulikov-Weaver