Just a short preview today thanks to yet another odd start time: The Panthers move forward onto game two of their current three-game road trip, and start out down in an 0-1 hole after a tough 6-3 loss against Columbus yesterday. The Cats should have Tim Thomas back in the cage and the Islanders are without superstar John Tavares, who famously went down during the Olympic tournament with a serious knee injury. The Panthers have some players who are seemingly playing on eggshells as the trade deadline approaches, and it’s not going to be surprising to see some familiar faces as healthy scratches as March 5 nears. Alternately, the Islanders are facing much of the same, failing to live up to expectations this season and likely dealing some of their current roster before the deadline, specifically Thomas Vanek, who they acquired earlier this season from Buffalo. It’s gonna be a pretty interesting trade deadline this year.
Gametime is at 3PM EST, so set your DVRs if you won’t be around. Otherwise, we’ll welcome you with open arms at the always-on LBC GameThread, so mosey on over on a lazy Sunday afternoon.