Canadiens (21-9-5 47P) at Panthers (15-14-7 37P)
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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, RDS, Sportsnet East
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- TICKETS: Single Game via Ticketmaster
- GOODIES: Celebrate Jaromir Jagr Night January 6th vs Nashville! (details)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #Habs, #MONvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Eyes on the Prize
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- BACK-TO-BACK? (FLA/MON): Back/Back
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 4 (1-0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs MON (RS): 42W-30L-6T 7OTL 3SOL 220GF 225GA
- ALL-TIME at FLA (RS): 21W-17L-3T 3OTL 1SOL 120GF 119GA
- LAST FIVE vs MON (RS): 5-0-0 19GF 10GA
- LAST MEETING: FLA 4 at MON 3 (OT) (Todd’s Recap) – 11/15/2016
- NEXT MEETING: Thursday 03/30/17 at Montreal
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Reimer (4-5-2 .907/2.71 0SO), Montoya (3-4-2 .906/2.82 1SO)
- TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs MON (RS): 84GP 43G-50A 93P +12 10GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Montreal/
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Scouting Report:
The Panthers are hoping to see a lot more of Aleksander Barkov on the ice, and soon. They missed him during Wednesday’s shootout. Barkov has four goals in seven shootout attempts this season. And for his career, he has 12 shootout goals, a Panthers record.
So while the Panthers pray for a speedy recovery, the Canadiens (21-9-5) arrive in South Florida upset and perturbed after blowing a 3-1 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining in the third period on Wednesday night at Tampa Bay. The Lightning emerged with a 4-3 overtime win.
“We just sat back, and they’re a good team and they can make things happen,” Montreal defenseman Shea Weber said. “We can’t sit back and give them time and space because that gives good players the ability to make plays.”
The Panthers will hope to start as effectively against the Canadiens as the Lightning finished. A more productive power play — Florida went 0-for-4 with a man advantage on Wednesday — also would help. (More via Yahoo! Sports/AP)
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Last game for the Cats: 3-2 (SO) loss at Sunrise vs Toronto. Last five: 2-1-2 (streak: 3L)
Last game for the Habs: 4-3 (OT) loss in Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Last five: 2-2-1 (streak: 3L)
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Thursday in the Atlantic Division (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- BOSTON (18-15-4 40P) at BUFFALO (13-13-4 34P), 7:00
- TORONTO (15-12-7 37P) at TAMPA BAY (18-15-3 39P), 7:30
- DETROIT (15-16-4 34P) at OTTAWA (20-12-3 43P), 8:00
- Idle: None/
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