Kings (27-23-4 58P) vs Panthers (23-19-10 56P)
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- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 7ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports West
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- TICKETS: Single Game via the Club
- GOODIES: Pro Wrestling Night & Miami Marlins Night (yes, both) tonight! Bokamper’s Watch Party February 11 vs Nashville! Valentine’s Day Package!
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #LAKings, #LAKvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Jewels From The Crown, Battle of California
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- BACK-TO-BACK? (FLA/ANA): None/None
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 2 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs LAK (RS): 10W-16L-3T 0OTL 1SOL 71GF 85GA
- ALL-TIME at FLA: 6W-4L-3T 0OTL 1SOL 33GF 34GA
- LAST FIVE vs LAK (RS): 1-4-0 7GF 18GA
- LAST MEETING: LAK 3, FLA 1 at Sunrise (Todd’s Recap) – 11/23/2015
- NEXT MEETING (RS): Saturday, February 18 at Los Angeles
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Reimer (9-6-4 .918/2.50 0SO) vs Budaj (25-16-3 .917/2.09 7SO)
- TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs LAK (RS): 32GP 13G-18A 31P -6 5GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Los Angeles/
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Scouting Report:
The Panthers (56 points) are four points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (60 points) with 30 games to go for each team. The Leafs are in third place in the Atlantic, which is the final guaranteed playoff berth within the division.
Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins are in fourth place with 58 points, but they have played three more games than Florida and Toronto, putting them in a bad spot.
Boston is in so much trouble, in fact, that the Bruins fired coach Claude Julien on Tuesday.
On the West Coast, the Kings (58 points) trail the Calgary Flames (59) by one point for the eighth and final playoff berth. But the good news for Los Angeles is that the Kings have two games in hand on the Flames.
Peter Budaj (25-16-3) has done a solid job replacing Quick as the Kings’ goalie. Budaj has a 2.09 goals-against average. (More from AP/Yahoo! Sports)
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Last action from the Cats: 2-1 (REG) home victory vs Anaheim. Past five: 3-1-1 (streak: 3W)
Last action from the Kings: 5-0 loss at Tampa Bay Tuesday. Past five: 3-2-0 (streak: 2L)
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Thursday in the Atlantic Division (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- San Jose (33-17-4 71P) at BOSTON (26-23-6 58P), 7:00
- Anaheim (28-17-10 66P) at BUFFALO (22-21-10 54P), 7:00
- DETROIT (22-21-10 54P) at Washington (37-11-6 80P), 7:00
- St. Louis (27-22-5 59P) at TORONTO (25-17-10 60P), 7:30
- Dallas (21-23-10 52P) at OTTAWA (27-18-6 60P), 7:30
- MONTREAL (30-17-8 68P) at Arizona (17-28-6 40P), 9:00
- Idle: TB (24-24-6 54P)/
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