Devils (4-2-2 10P) vs Panthers (4-5-1 9P)
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- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 7ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FLA
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, MSG2
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- TICKETS: single game via the Club
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #NJDevils, #NJDvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: All About The Jersey
- SB NATION: Story Hub
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 3 (1-0)
- ALL-TIME vs NJ (REG): 31W-45L-7T 5OTL 2SOL 198GF 255GA
- ALL-TIME vs NJ at FLA (REG): 19W-18L-4T 2OTL 2SOL 107GF 114GA
- LAST FIVE vs NJ (REG): 4-1-0 15GF 10GA
- LAST MEETING: FLA 2 – NJ 1 OT (Todd’s Recap) – 10/13/2016
- NEXT MEETING: 01/17/2017 at The BB&T
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Luongo (3-4-0 .912/2.30), Schneider (4-2-1 .941/1.86)
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs NJ (reg season): 104GP 36G-60A 96P +4 8GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / New Jersey/
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NHL.com Preview:
New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider will make his eighth start. He’s 4-2-1 with a 1.86 goals-against average and .941 save percentage. The Devils did not conduct a morning skate on Thursday, so coach John Hynes will reveal any lineup changes prior to the opening faceoff. Hynes told NorthJersey.com he has seen much growth from his team since a 2-1 overtime loss at the Florida Panthers on Oct. 13. “A lot of times when you get into your first few games, you’re hoping to see an identity more often in the game than not and I think, if you look now, we’re getting in around the 10-game mark when you should start to see a pretty consistent identity if you watch the team play. We feel like we’ve played our last three to four games with a pretty consistent identity.” (more)
Yahoo! Sports Preview:
The Panthers (4-5-1) enter Thursday’s home game against the well-rested New Jersey Devils (4-2-2) at BB&T Center with a power play that is sputtering.
In a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, the Panthers had seven man-advantage situations and still managed to get outscored 1-0 in those instances.
Yes, that’s right: Florida went 0-for-7 on the power play while also allowing one short-handed goal. And now they face a Devils team that hasn’t played since Saturday.
“We’ve got to work on our power play — that’s the bottom line,” Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. “When you stand around and try to make cute plays like we did, it’s not going to work.”
The Panthers will face another good penalty-killing team on Thursday in the Devils, who are at 86 percent on their PK unit. (more)
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Last game for the Cats: 2-1 (REG) loss against visiting Boston Tuesday. Past five: 1-4-0 (streak: 1L)
Last game for the Devs: 3-1 home victory over Tampa Bay Saturday. Past five: 2-3-0 (streak: 1W)
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Thursday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- TORONTO (3-4-3 9P) at BUFFALO (4-3-2 10P), 7:00
- Vancouver (4-5-1 9P) at OTTAWA (6-3-0 12P), 7:30
- BOSTON (5-4-0 10P) at TAMPA BAY (6-4-0 12P), 7:30
- Idle: MON (19P), DET (13P)/
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