For a little while there, it seemed like the Florida Panthers may have started to turn the corner offensively. Unfortunately, the minor binge is over as the Cats “O” has sputtered in their last two games. The Panthers only managed a single goal in Thursday night’s loss to the Phoenix Coyotes, and then got blanked yesterday by Jonathan Quick and the stingy Los Angeles Kings. Florida will be looking to dent the twine tonight against one of the league’s best, the Anaheim Ducks, in an effort to pull the upset and finish up this west coast trek with a .500 record.
Look for Anaheim to be a bit on ornery side for this one, as they have dropped their last two games, and have only managed a 3-4-2 record during the month of March. A road-weary Panthers team looks like the perfect tonic for whatever is ailing the once mighty Ducks. The clubs met back in November in Sunrise with the Panthers rallying from a two-goal deficit to come away with a 3-2 win courtesy of a third period tally from winger Brad Boyes.
Dan Ellis wil spell number one Roberto Luongo for tonight’s tilt. Ellis will be making his second start as a Panther. He surrendered all five goals in a 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 13th. The Ducks have been off for a couple days so I would expect to see a rested Jonas Hiller tending goal for the Black, Metallic Gold and Orange.
Puck drop is at 8 p.m. so that means the LBC GameThread will be flying high again at 7:30 or so. Join us for the usual witty banter and hockey high jinx. Stop by Anaheim Calling if you feel like gettin’ ducky wit it.