Florida Panthers (5-5-3 13P) vs Los Angeles Kings (8-5 16P)
- WHEN: 4:00 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 3:30ish
- WHERE: Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA/
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- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports West
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN, 107.9 WAXE, 97.7 The Wave, Panthers Official App (iOS, Android)
- SOCIALLY SPEAKING: #FlaPanthers, #LAKings, #FLAvsLAK & if you’re feeling generous give us a follow @LitterBoxCats and toss us a “Like” at the LBC FaceBook page
- ENEMY INTEL: Jewels From The Crown /
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- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 2 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs LAK: 10W-14L-3T 0OTL 1SOL 69GF 78GA
- ALL-TIME at LAK: 4W-11L-0T 0OTL 0SOL 37GF 47GA
- LAST FIVE vs LAK: 2-3-0 8GF 15GA/
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- PROJECTED STARTERS: Luongo (3-4-2 .936/2.11 0SO), Quick (6-5 .915/2.36 1SO)
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs LAK (reg season): 30GP 13G-17A 30P 5GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Los Angeles /
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- NOTES: Rough stats abound from the smoldering wreckage of Thursday’s no-show vs San Jose: From plus-minus (Petrovic’s minus-5 led a remarkably bad group, with Jagr and Kulikov each carrying a minus-4) to giveaways (Ekblad & Kuli with 2 each; eight others with 1) to another confoundingly lousy night from former Calder kid Jonathan Huberdeau (1 SOG, 1 GvA, minus-3 in 16:43). Now winless in their past four, the Panthers approach the tail end of a three-game trip evidently without soul or confidence and seeking help from each night’s opposition. Florida (13P) is now in the bottom third of the conference, topping only Philadelphia (11), Carolina & Buffalo (10P), Columbus (8P) and Toronto (6P). Not piling on here, but AHL Portland suffered its fifth-straight loss on Friday to Springfield. Cracks in the “best prospect system” armor? Whatever the reasons, the organization is in a tough stretch, short-term
- QUOTED: /
“We didn’t play our game tonight. We played a loose game, gave (San Jose) too many opportunities. They probably could’ve had more than five goals. Montoya made some big saves for us. Almost everything they got tonight was off us turning the puck over. We weren’t sharp tonight, whether (we) were tired, I don’t know.”
– Florida head coach Gerard Gallant, not knowing if his team was tired.
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Last game for the Cats: Brutal 5-2 loss at San Jose Thursday. Past five: 1-2-2 10GF 14GA (streak: 4L)
Last game for the Kings: 3-2 (reg) home loss to Columbus Thursday (and check out the penalties!). Past five: 3-2 15GF 11GA (streak: 1L)
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NHL.com Preview:
The Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings split two games last season, with each team winning at home. Panthers forward Brandon Pirri scored with 3:05 remaining in the third period to give them a 3-2 win at BB&T Center on Feb. 5. Kings forward Marian Gaborik scored the game-winner Nov. 18 in their 5-2 win at Staples Center. (More)
PlagensVision on Panthers’ Friday Practice:
Kings coach Darryl Sutter following Thursday’s loss to ‘Lumbus:
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Saturday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- Vancouver (6-3-4 16P) at BUFFALO (5-8 10P), 1:00
- BOSTON (6-5-1 13P) at MONTREAL (12-2-1 25P), 7:00 NHLN
- TORONTO (2-9-2 6P) at Washington (9-3 18P), 7:00
- OTTAWA (7-4-2 16P) at Carolina (5-7 10P), 7:00
- TAMPA BAY (7-6-2 18P) at Minnesota (7-3-2 16P), 8:00
- Idle: DET (7-5-1 15P)/
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Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets
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