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Sunday Caterwaul: Florida Panthers GameDay Open Forum

The Florida Panthers will look to build on Friday night’s impressive 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins as they play host to the Los Angeles Kings today at BB&T Center, with puck drop at 3 PM. The Cats will be gunning for their first two-game winning streak of the season and a .500 record.

The last time these two tangled was back on February 9, 2012 here in Sunrise. Florida skated to a 3-1 victory with goaltender Scott Clemmensen getting the best of of his counterpart Jonathan Quick. Sean Bergenheim (remember him?), Mike Santorelli and Matt Bradley scored the goals for the Cats.

The 3-2 Kings also played on Friday night, slipping by our old friends, the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 in a shootout, to open a four-game road swing which sees the club head to Tampa and Nashville after today’s tilt in Sunrise. The win in Raleigh was the second-straight for Los Angeles, following a 4-3 overtime win at home against the Ottawa Senators.

Jeff Carter leads the struggling L.A. offense with four goals and five points. Dustin Brown is the only other skater with more than one goal. Jonathan Quick has appeared in all five games for the Kings, posting a 2.64 GAA and a .905 save percentage.

After his four-point performance against Pittsburgh, Tomas Fleischmann leads the Panthers in scoring with six points (1G/5A). PTO steal Brad Boyes has netted a team-leading four goals.

The Cats had a pretty easy time solving Penguins’ backup Jeff Zatkoff, but will face a much bigger challenge getting the puck past Quick today if he is the starter.

No confirmation on Florida’s lineup as of yet, but I would think we’ll see the same cast of characters that handled the Pens.

For a more regal take on things, check out the opposition at Jewels From The Crown. Look for the LBC GameThread to fire up roundabout 2:30 PM.

Talking Points