Islanders (5-7-2 12P) at Panthers (6-7-1 13P)
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- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 6:30ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, MSG+2
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- TICKETS: via the club
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #Isles, #NYIvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Lighthouse Hockey
- SB NATION: Story Hub
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs NYI (REG): 45W-29L-8T 2OTL 6SOL 266GF 244GA
- ALL-TIME vs NI at FLA (REG): 24W-11L-6T 0OTL 3SOL 141GF 125GA
- LAST FIVE vs NYI (REG): 4-1 18GF 11GA
- LAST MEETING (REG): NYI 3 – FLA 2 (REG) (Todd’s Recap) – 03/14/2016
- NEXT MEETING: 01/11/2017 in Brooklyn
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Luongo (4-5-0 .917/2.35), Halak (3-4-2 .903/3.03)
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs NYI (REG): 109GP 61G-93A 154P +18 13GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / NY Islanders/
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Yahoo! Sports Preview:
Both teams topped 100 points last season. Both entered this season as Stanley Cup contenders with odds floating between 21-1 (Panthers) and 23-1 (Islanders). But so far this season, neither team is doing very well. Florida (6-7-1) is in last place in the Atlantic. New York (5-7-2) is next-to-last in the Metropolitan Division. There are 16 teams in the Eastern Conference, all battling for eight playoff spots, and the Panthers and Islanders are each digging themselves a hole.
After losing a home game 4-2 to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, Florida coach Gerard Gallant intimated that his team is close to regaining its 2015-2016 form. “I like the way we’ve played most of our games,” Gallant said. “But if you look at the San Jose game, three mistakes, and they are in the back of our net.” The fourth Sharks goal was an empty-netter, but the message was clear: The Panthers need to focus for the full 60 minutes and beyond in case of overtime. (more)
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Last game for the Cats: 3-2 (REG) home loss vs San Jose Thursday. Past five: 3-2-0 (streak: 1L)
Last game for the Isles: 4-1 loss at Tampa Bay Thursday. Past five: 1-2-2 (streak: 1L)
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Saturday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- DETROIT (8-6-1 17P) at MONTREAL (12-1-1 25P), 7:00
- BUFFALO (5-5-4 14P) at New Jersey (7-3-3 17P), 7:00
- TORONTO (6-5-3 15P) at Pittsburgh (9-3-2 20P), 7:00
- San Jose (8-6-0 16P) at TAMPA BAY (8-5-1 17P), 7:00
- BOSTON (8-6-0 16P) at Arizona (5-8-0 10P), 8:00
- Idle: OTW (14P)/
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