Sharks (7-6-0 14P) at Panthers (6-6-1 13P)
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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, CSN California
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- TICKETS: via the club
- SPECIAL EVENTS: Military Appreciation Night is this evening!
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #SJSharks, #SJSvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Fear The Fin, Battle of California
- SB NATION: Story Hub
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 2 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs SJ (REG): 11W-11L-7T 0OTL 1SOL 73GF 86GA
- ALL-TIME vs SJ at FLA (REG): 5W-4L-5T 0OTL 1SOL 38GF 40GA
- LAST FIVE vs SJ (REG): 3-1-1 13GF 12GA
- LAST MEETING: SJ 2 – FLA 1 (SO) (Todd’s Recap) – 02/18/2016
- NEXT MEETING: 02/15/2017 in San Jose
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Reimer (2-1-1 .908/2.66), Jones (6-6-0 .909/2.33)
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs SJ (reg season): 31GP 13G-21A 34P +2 0GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / San Jose/
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Yahoo! Sports Preview:
The Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak by winning on the road and dominating one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, beating the Washington Capitals 3-0 on Tuesday.
“That win was big for us just to kind of right the ship for us a little bit,” said Sharks goalie Martin Jones, who made 24 saves. “Everything kind of went our way.”
For the Panthers, starting goalie Roberto Luongo broke a personal four-game losing streak by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Monday.
Even better for Florida is the fact that it is starting to get healthier.
Forward Jussi Jokinen, who has missed the past nine games due to a knee injury, is set to return on Thursday against the Sharks.
“He’s ready to play,” Panthers coach Gerard Gallant confirmed. (more)
NHL.com Preview:
The Sharks are looking for more offense from forward Logan Couture, who has no goals and three assists in his past 10 games. San Jose is tied for 25th in the NHL with 2.31 goals per game; last season, when the Sharks reached the Stanley Cup Final, they averaged 2.89 goals per game, which ranked fourth. “Anytime you’ve got goaltending like [Roberto] Luongo and [James] Reimer, you know you’re going to have to earn your goals,” coach Peter DeBoer said. San Jose will use the same lineup as it did against Washington, with left wing Joel Ward on a line with center Joe Thornton and right wing Joe Pavelski. (more)
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Last game for the Cats: 3-1 home victory over Tampa Bay on Monday. Past five: 3-2-0 (streak: 1W)
Last game for the Sharks: 3-0 win in D.C.(!) on Tuesday. Past five: 2-3-0 (streak: 1W)
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Thursday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- Columbus (6-3-2 15P) at BOSTON (7-6-0 14P), 7:00
- Los Angeles (7-6-0 14P) at MONTREAL (11-1-1 23P), 7:30
- Vancouver (5-8-1 11P) at DETROIT (7-6-1 15P), 7:30
- NY Islanders (5-6-2 12P) at TAMPA BAY (7-5-1 15P), 7:30
- Idle: OTW (16P), BUF (13P), TOR (13P)/
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