Jets (18-19-3 39P) at Panthers (16-14-8 40P)
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- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 6:30ish
- WHERE: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, SN1, SNW
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- TICKETS: Single Game via the club
- GOODIES: Celebrate Jaromir Jagr Night January 6th vs Nashville! (details) PanthersPalooza III on January 14! (details)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #NHLJets, #WPGvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Arctic Ice Hockey, Illegal Curve
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- BACK-TO-BACK? (FLA/WPG): No/Back
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 2 (0-0-1)
- ALL-TIME vs WPG/ATL 2.0 (RS): 35W-33L-5T 8OTL 5SOL 235GF 274GA
- ALL-TIME at FLA vs WPG/ATL 2.0 (RS): 21W-15L-1T 3OTL 3SOL 119GF 121GA
- LAST FIVE vs WPG (RS): 3-1-1 15GF 17GA
- LAST MEETING: Host WPG 4, FLA 3 (SO) (Todd’s Recap) – 12/15/2016
- NEXT MEETING (RS): 2017-18 season
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Luongo (11-9-5 .920/2.42 0SO), Hutchinson (4-7-2 .894/3.18 0SO)
- TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs WPG/ATL 2.0 (RS): 46GP 25G-32A 57P +8 3GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Winnipeg/
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Scouting Report:
Too bad Aleksander Barkov and Patrik Laine won’t be able to meet on the ice Wednesday night at the BB&T Center.
Both are big, talented and young forwards from Tampere, Finland. Both were the No. 2 overall selections in recent NHL drafts — Barkov to the Florida Panthers in 2013 and Laine to the Winnipeg Jets in 2016.
But when the Jets (18-19-3) visit the Panthers (16-14-8) on Wednesday, Barkov is expected to miss the game due to a lower body injury.
During last fall’s World Cup of Hockey 2016 at Toronto, Barkov, 21, played on a Finnish line with Laine, 18, and Sebastian Aho, 19.
Barkov, who suffered an unspecified injury on Dec. 28 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, set career highs last season in goals (28), assists (31) and points (59) in 66 games.
This season, he has nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points in 36 games, establishing himself as one of the league’s best two-way centers.
Laine, pronounced Lie-nay, has already earned a reputation for one of the hardest shots in hockey. (More via Yahoo! Sports/AP)
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Last game for the Cats: 3-1 victory in Dallas on New Year’s Eve. Last five: 1-1-3 (streak: 1W)
Last game for the Props: 6-4 win in Tampa last night. Last five: 3-2 (streak: 1W)
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Wednesday in the Atlantic Division (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- MONTREAL (23-9-6 52P) at Dallas (16-15-7 39P), 8:00
- DETROIT (16-16-5 37P) at Anaheim (19-12-8 46P), 10:30
- Idle: OTT (44P), BOS (44P), TB (42P), TOR (42P), BUF (34P)/
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