Islanders (15-16-8 38P) at Panthers (19-16-8 46P)
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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, MSG+
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- TICKETS: via the Club
- GOODIES: PanthersPalooza III & Nole Night on January 14 vs Columbus!
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #Isles, #FLAvsNYI, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Lighthouse Hockey
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- BACK-TO-BACK? (FLA/NYI): Front/Front
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 3 (2-0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs NYI (RS): 47W-29L-8T 2OTL 6SOL 271GF 247GA
- ALL-TIME at FLA (RS): 25W-11L-6T 0OTL 3SOL 144GF 127GA
- LAST FIVE vs NYI (RS): 4-1-0 15GF 9GA
- LAST MEETING: FLA 2 – NYI 1 (REG) from Brooklyn (Todd’s Recap) – 01/11/2017
- NEXT MEETING (RS): Playoffs or 2017-18 season
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Luongo (13-10-5 .921/2.39 1SO) vs Greiss (9-6-2 .927/2.29 0SO)
- TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs NYI (RS): 111GP 61G-93A 154P +19 13GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / New York/
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Scouting Report:
The Islanders have just 38 points, which puts them dead last in the 16-team Eastern Conference. That’s surprising given that the Islanders actually made the playoffs last year, defeating the Panthers in the first round. That is also surprising because the Islanders have a superstar center in John Tavares. This was supposed to be a team on the rise.
But the Islanders, who are in the midst of a tough stretch in which they will play seven of eight games on the road, have lost four of their past five (1-2-2). Islanders coach Jack Capuano threatened changes after Wednesday’s loss.
“There will be guys who will be out of the lineup next game,” Capuano said. “There is no doubt about that. That’s the accountability as a coach.” Capuano was particularly upset with a second period in which the Islanders were outscored 1-0.
“That was probably the worst second period we’ve played all year,” he said. “Certain guys should have just stayed in the locker-room. It was bad.” (More via Yahoo! Sports/AP)
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Last game by the Cats: 2-1 (REG) victory in Brooklyn Wednesday. Last five: 3-2-0 (streak: 2W)
Last game by the Isles: 2-1 (REG) loss in Brooklyn Wednesday. Last five: 2-1-2 (streak: 3L)
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Friday in the Atlantic Division (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- TORONTO (18-13-8 44P) at NY Rangers (28-13-1 47P), 7:00
- BUFFALO (16-16-9 41P) at Carolina (19-15-7 45P), 7:30
- Columbus (28-8-4 59P) at TAMPA BAY (20-19-4 44P), 8:00
- Idle: MON (58P), BOS (49P), OTT (48P), DET (40P)/
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