A pair of Eastern Conference teams that met in the playoffs last season and are having a bit of trouble getting it going in 2022-23 will collide tonight in suburban Broward when the Florida Panthers (8-6-1) host the Washington Capitals (7-8-2) at FLA Live Arena. After opening its five-game homestand with an impressive 3-0 shutout win over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Cats went cold offensively again, except for Sam Bennett, and got doubled-up 4-2 by the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. The middling Capitals opened a three-game road trip Sunday on Florida’s gulf coast and got torched 6-3 by the Tampa Bay Lightning. After a run of three straight starts by youngster Spencer Knight, expect veteran Sergei Bobrovsky to be back between the pipes tonight for the Panthers. Darcy Kuemper only lasted 16:22 against the Bolts, so look for Washington to counter with Charlie Lindgren, who stopped 19 of 20 shots in relief.
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Bally Sports Florida, NBCSWA
- ON THE DIAL: 96.5 WPOW-FM HD-2 (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #ALLCAPS, #WSHvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Japers’ Rink
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3
- LAST MEETING: @FLA 5, WSH 4 – (Recap) 11/30/2021
- NEXT MEETING: February 16, 2023
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Sergei Bobrovsky (3-4-1 .897 / 3.29 0SO) vs Charlie Lindgren (2-1-0 .915 / 2.98 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Washington/
Tuesday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- Dallas (9-5-1 19P) at TAMPA BAY (8-6-1 15P) 7 p.m.
- New Jersey (12-3-0 24P) at MONTREAL (8-6-1 15P) 7 p.m.
- TORONTO (8-5-3 19P) at Pittsburgh (6-6-3 15P) 7 p.m.
- Vancouver (4-9-3 11P) at BUFFALO (7-8-0 14P) 7 p.m.
- DETROIT (7-5-3 17P) at Anaheim (4-10-1 11P) 10 p.m./
Idle: BOS (28P), OTT (11P)
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