The Florida Panthers are enjoying their second day off from game action after Monday night’s huge shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Up next for the Cats are the San Jose Sharks, who easily won the first meeting between the two teams 5-2 on November 5th at SAP Center. The Panthers are 0 for California this season, picking up just a single Bettman point (against the Ducks) in five games against the three NHL clubs hailing from the Golden State.
San Jose did the Cats a huge favor by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 last night. Check out Fear the Fin’s recap. for more on that. The Sharks currently sit in third place in the Pacific Division and have posted a 6-2-2 over their last ten games, so despite yielding second place to the Ducks, they’re pretty hot lately.
Some notable stuff about the local franchise on this Wednesday morning: Aleksander Barkov and Erik Gudbranson could be back for tomorrow night’s game (crossing fingers). Roberto Luongo took a puck in the neck at yesterday’s practice, but is no worse for wear. It seems like Al Montoya is going to get the start against San Jose in any case. The Portland Pirates, winners of three straight on the road, are in Utica tonight to take on the Comets. And oh yeah, the trade deadline is rapidly approaching.
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