After a depressing 3-0 shutout against Carolina on Thursday, the Panthers will look to rebound against a stingy Montreal Canadiens team who have won four in a row and look to keep their streak going. Florida couldn’t manage to score a single goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in their shutout loss, something that is becoming pretty commonplace for the Cats despite the infusion of youth into the lineup. Florida has only managed to score five goals over the past five games, further digging Florida into a disgustingly bad goal differential of -62, second worst in the league and the worst since 2002-2003 when the Cats finished at -61. That should give you an idea of just how bad this team is. And to help that stat, starting netminder Roberto Luongo, out with an upper body injury, won’t suit up for this contest, meaning Dan Ellis is the starter with Scott Clemmensen as the backup. Yay.
Montreal is still chasing the Boston Bruins in the division, and it will be unlikely that they take the division lead away from Boston. However, the Habs are in a great spot and will almost assuredly get a taste of the postseason this year. Last year’s Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban again leads the club in scoring, and Max Pacioretty leads the team with 33 goals. The Habs get the job done with great defensive play and solid goaltending, something Florida tends to only have one of on any given night. They’re also a great team scoring club, with seven different players with 30 or more points. In contrast, Florida has four, and none of them have cleared 40 points yet on the year. Yikes.
The renowned LBC GameThread will be wearing the Ole earplugs before the game, so stop by and pick up a pair. Eyes on the Prize has all the French you could shake a baguette at, so if you’re needing some “culture”, stop by for some poutine and enjoy the dialogue.