Toronto Maple Leafs (17-20-9 43P) at Florida Panthers (28-15-5 61P)
- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 7ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Miami Ft Lauderdale Sunrise, FL
- TICKETS: Single Game via the Club
- LATEST PROMOTIONS: Valentines Day offers (four distinct packages)/
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- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, TSN4
- ON THE DIAL: 560, 640, 760, 1210 (AM); 97.7, 107.9 (FM); Official App
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #Leafs, #TORvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook page
- GAME NOTES: via the club
- ENEMY INTEL: Pension Plan Puppets
- SB NATION: Game Hub /
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- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 4 (0-0)
- ALL-TIME vs TOR: 30W-29L-7T 2OTL 3SOL 210GF 204GA
- ALL-TIME at FLA: 16W-14L-5T 4OTL 1SOL 109GF 102GA
- LAST FIVE vs TOR: 4-1-0 19GF 12GA/
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- PROJECTED STARTERS: Luongo (21-13-4 .930/2.11 4SO), Reimer (8-7-6 .937/1.97 0SO)
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs TOR (regular season): 55GP 32G-43A 75P 5GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Toronto /
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Notable:
in case you missed the festivities earlier, F Aleksander Barkov was rewarded Monday with a contract which keeps him in the Florida fold through 2022…Captain D Willie Mitchell (undisclosed) is expected to miss his third consecutive game this evening…G Roberto Luongo has won a club record seven straight contests at home…C Dave Bolland remains out…this is Florida’s final match before All Star Weekend; the Panthers resume regular season action on February 2nd at Washington for a one-game road trip.
NHL.com Preview:
Goalie James Reimer will make his fourth start in a row. Forward Nick Spaling is ready to return from an upper-body injury that sidelined him the past 16 games. “I think Nick is in unless something happens,” coach Mike Babcock told the Maple Leafs website. Spaling was activated from injured reserve Monday and practiced on a line with center Peter Holland and left wing Joffrey Lupul at BB&T Center. (More)
Yahoo.com Preview:
The Maple Leafs were in high spirits over the holidays with a three-game winning streak Dec. 30-Jan. 6 capping an 8-2-2 span. Since then, though, they’ve gone 1-5-2 with 10 goals scored, including a 3-2 home shootout loss to Montreal on Saturday. Toronto is playing back-to-back road games before entering the break having gone 0 for 21 on the power play in its last seven, and it managed just 19 shots in 65 minutes against the Canadiens. “You get embarrassed when you’re getting outworked that bad and you’re not competing hard,” said coach Mike Babcock, whose team was outshot 14-3 in the opening period. (More)
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Last game for the Cats: 5-2 home victory over Tampa Bay on Saturday. Past five: 2-3-0 12GF 15GA (streak: 2W)
Last game for the Leafs: 3-2 (SO) loss to visiting Montreal on Saturday. Past five: 1-2-2 8GF 13GA (streak: 2L)
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Saturday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- Anaheim (21-18-7 49P) at BOSTON (26-17-5 57P), 7:00
- Columbus (18-27-5 41P) at MONTREAL (24-21-4 52P), 7:30
- BUFFALO (19-26-4 42P) at OTTAWA (23-20-6 52P), 7:30
- Idle: DET (58P), TBL (56P)/
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Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets
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