Wild (42-17-6 90P) at Panthers (29-25-11 69P)
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- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 7ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL
- TICKETS: via the Club
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports North+
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- GOODIES: Panther Conservation and Grateful Dead Night tonight!
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #MIN, #MINvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Hockey Wilderness
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- BACK-TO-BACK? (FLA/MIN): None/Back
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 2 (0-1-0)
- ALL-TIME vs MIN (RS): 5W-12L-1T 1OTL 1SOL 32GF 59GA
- ALL-TIME at FLA (RS): 4W-5L-0T 0OTL 1SOL 19GF 27GA
- LAST FIVE vs MIN (RS): 1-4-0 6GF 15GA
- LAST MEETING: Host MIN 5 – FLA 1 – (Todd’s Recap) – 12/13/2016
- NEXT MEETING (RS): 2017-18 Season
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Reimer (12-10-5 .919/2.52 0SO) vs Kuemper (7-3-3 .905/3.22 0SO)
- TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Minnesota/
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Scouting Report:
There are six NHL teams with 40 or more wins and — in a stretch of seven games that began Tuesday — the Florida Panthers will play five games against those powers.
The Panthers started this difficult run on Tuesday night, losing 5-2 to the visiting New York Rangers. The Minnesota Wild (42-17-6), another member of the 40-plus-wins club, visits the BB&T Center on Friday.
After that, the Panthers visit the Tampa Bay Lightning and play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs before closing this stretch with three straight road games against 40-something-win teams: the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Rangers again and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ouch.
Indeed, pain is in the forecast for Florida (29-25-1), which was playing poorly even before this stretch began. The Panthers are 1-5-1 in their past seven games. In addition, Florida has won just once in its past seven home games, and the Panthers haven’t scored more than three goals since Feb. 17. (More via AP)
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Last action from the Cats: 5-2 loss at home vs Rags Tuesday. Past five: 1-3-1 (streak: 3L)
Last action from the Wild: 4-1 road loss to Bolts Past five: 2-3 (streak: 2L)
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Friday in the Atlantic Division (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- BUFFALO (27-28-12 68P) at Columbus (42-17-6 90P), 7:00
- Chicago (42-18-5 89P) at DETROIT (25-29-11 61P), NHLN
- Idle: MON (84P), OTT (82P), BOS (76P), TOR (74P)/
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