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LBC GameDay Caterwaul: Panthers at Stars Open Forum

  • WHO: Florida Panthers (7GP 3-3-1 7P) vs Dallas Stars (7GP 6-1 12P)
  • WHEN: 8:00 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 7ish
  • WHERE: American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
  • ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Southwest
  • ON THE RADIO: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN, 107.9 WAXE, 97.7 The Wave, Florida Panthers’ Official App (iOS, Android)
  • ENEMY INTEL: Defending Big D, Three Questions with DBD
  • FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 2 (0-1)
  • ALL-TIME vs DAL: 13W-12L-3T 0OTL 1SOL 79GF 84GA
  • ALL-TIME at DAL: 7W-5L-2T 0OTL 0SOL 47GF 41GA
  • LAST FIVE vs DAL: 3-1-1 16GF 10GA
  • PROJECTED STARTERS: Montoya (1-0 .957/1.00 0SO), Lehtonen (3-0 .920/2.35 0SO)
  • JAGR WATCH: All-time vs DAL/MIN (regular season): 32GP 14G-17A 31P 2GW
  • PLAYER STATS: Florida / Dallas
  • TWITTER TAGS: #FlaPanthers, #Stars, #FLAvsDAL, & give us a follow @LitterBoxCats and our (newly revitalized!) LBC FaceBook page
  • NOTES: As noted Friday evening by Harvey & GR, center Aleksander Barkov (wrist) will miss this game at the least and be re-evaluated Monday with what’s being officially called an “upper-body” issue. Coach Gallant resisted a recall from AHL Portland, opting instead to utilize Shawn Thornton as the veteran forward is with the team anyway. Big Nick Bjugstad will center the top line – and I absolutely cannot wait to see what that might yield – while Vincent Trocheck slots into C2 or C3. Of course anything may happen between now and 8 p.m. so adjustments could be in the offing. The Stars have victories in five straight – all of the regulation variety – with a goal differential of plus-10. Blueliner Jason Demers was suspended for 2 games for this elbow which happened to connect with Pittsburgh forward Nick Bonino./

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Last game for the Cats: 3-2 (REG) loss at Chicago Thursday. Past five: 2-2-1 13GF 13GA (streak: 3L)

Last game for the Stars: 4-1 road victory over the Pens on Thursday. Past five: 5-0 19GF 9GA (streak: 5W)

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NHL.com Preview:

Dallas looks to extend a five-game winning streak as it begins a three-game homestand. The Stars won all four games on their past road trip. “We’re off to a nice start,” coach Lindy Ruff told the Stars website after practice Friday. “We’re making headway in some of the areas that we really tried hard to work out through camp and practices. Our defending is in a good place. We know it’s going to get tougher because when you’re sitting where we’re sitting you have every team that’s looking to gun you down.”

Panthers post-practice Friday with Denis & Red Deer:

Stargazing:

Dallas currently leads the NHL this season in goal-scoring (25) and have scored the most goals through seven games since the 1995-96 Dallas Stars, who recorded 26 goals in their first seven contests. The Stars have notched a power play goal in five of seven games so far and boast the League’s second-best power play at 30.4% (7-for-23). Additionally, Dallas ranks fourth in the NHL with a 90.0% penalty kill (18-of-20) and over the last five games have killed 13-straight opponent power play opportunities (13-of-13). (More)

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Saturday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / NEW! Panthers Playoff Chances):

  • New Jersey (3-3-1 7P) at BUFFALO (2-5 4P), 7:00
  • TORONTO (1-3-2 4P) at MONTREAL (8-0 16P), 7:00
  • Arizona (3-3-1 7P) at OTTAWA (3-2-2 8P), 7:00
  • TAMPA BAY (5-2-1 11P) at Chicago (4-3 8P), 8:30 NHLN
  • DETROIT (3-3-1 7P) at Vancouver (3-2-2 8P), 10:00
  • Idle: BOS (3-3-1 7P)/

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Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets

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Talking Points