- WHO: Florida Panthers (4GP 3-1 6P) vs Dallas Stars (4GP 3-1 6P)
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 6:30ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL; doors open at 5:30
- ON THE TUBE: Fox Sports Florida, Fox Sports Southwest
- ON THE RADIO: 1470 AM (no WQAM tonight), 640 WMEN, 107.9 WAXE, 760 ESPN (Spanish),1210 ESPN (Spanish), 97.7 The Wave
- TICKETS: Single game via the club
- ENEMY INTEL: Defending Big D
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 2 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs DAL: 13W-12L-3T 0OTL 1SOL 79GF 84GA
- ALL-TIME vs DAL in FLA: 6W-7L-1T 0OTL 1SOL 32GF 43GA
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Lehtonen (2-0 .918/2.52) vs Luongo (2-1 .959/1.34)
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs DAL/MIN (North Stars!): 47GP 18G-30A 48P 2GW
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Dallas
- TWITTER TAGS: #FlaPanthers, #DallasStars, #DALvsFLA, & give us a follow @LitterBoxCats and our (newly revitalized!) FaceBook page
- NOTES: The Cats are 3-1-1 in their past five vs Dallas, but 0-1-1 last season. Goal differentials through 4 games: FLA – plus-9 (3rd overall), DAL – plus-4 (8th); none of that means anything this early as a single match can blow both numbers out of the water. Faceoff wins remain a strength for the Panthers at a 53.5% clip, good for 3rd in the league. D Dmitry Kulikov has a bit of history with F Tyler Seguin courtesy of what was deemed a suspension-worthy hit a season ago. The Hotel Kulifornia re-opened four games later and became somewhat effective in the two teams next meeting by landing on the Three Stars – no pun intended – list, though a loss is a loss, even when Luongo, Jagr, Gudbranson, Mitchell and Montoya were banged up (catch Todd’s LBC recap of that game here). Any case, keep your eyes on those boys.
- Boss o’ the Bench Gerard Gallant comments on Friday’s practice session:/
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Last game for the Cats: 3-2 (REG) win over Buffalo Thursday in Sunrise. Past five: 3-1 14GF 5GA (streak: 2W)
Last game for the Stars: 5-3 victory in Tampa Bay on Thursday. Past five: 3-1 15GF 11GA (streak: 2W)
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NHL.com Preview:
It’s a small sample size, but one big reason for the Panthers’ strong start has been their defensive play. In four games they’ve allowed 1.25 goals per game, down from the 2.60 goals per game they allowed last season.
More here on both teams.
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Saturday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / NEW! Panthers Playoff Chances):
- DETROIT (3-1 6P) at MONTREAL (5-0 10P), 7:00 p.m. NHLN
- Nashville (3-1 6P) at OTTAWA (3-2 6P), 7:00
- BUFFALO (1-3 2P) at TAMPA BAY (3-2 6P), 7:00
- TORONTO (1-2-1 3P) at Pittsburgh (1-3 2P), 7:00
- BOSTON (1-3 2P) at Arizona (3-1 6P), 10:00
- Idle: None/
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Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets
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