Cats open five-game homestand in second place
Panthers (11-3-2 24P) at Stars (5-3-4 14P)
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: BB&T Center, Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Southwest
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 640 WMEN (PB), 1370 WAXE (TC), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #GoStars, #DALvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Defending Big D
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 8
- LAST MEETING: @FLA 7, DAL 4 – (Recap) – 12/20/2019
- NEXT MEETING: February 24, 2021
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Driedger (6-1-1 .926/ 2.35 0SO) vs Khudobin (3-3-1 .902/ 2.75 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Dallas
Scouting Report (courtesy of Pickswise)
The Dallas Stars and the Florida Panthers will meet for the first time this season. The Stars are coming off four postponed games and nine days of rest, they should be well prepared for this matchup. The only problem, Dallas is currently on a five game losing skid after starting their season on an amazing four game winning streak. Having nearly two weeks of rest before this game, their roster should be ready to go. Unfortunately, their team has really had the short end of the stick this season. They’ve had 20 scheduled games and have only played 12 of them so far, they’ll be forced to play 44 games over the next 77 days. The team needs to recognize the importance of early wins so they won’t be playing desperate hockey down the final stretch. For their pride, the Stars need this win. Last year’s runner-up has all the motivation and rest they need to win, now they just need to execute.
Even though they’ve lost five in a row, their team statistics are still, for the most part, more impressive than the Panthers. Defensively, Dallas has managed to hold their opponents to only 2.67 goals per game, the tenth best in the league, while the Panthers are allowing 2.88. They’ve also done a better job limiting the other team’s shots, only allowing 27.4 per game, fifth best. Whereas Florida ranks outside the top 20. Offensively, the Stars have the second best powerplay, operating at 33.3%. This could be lethal against a Florida team that is killing penalties at only a 79.2% pace, below the league’s average.
Both teams are averaging more than three goals per game, the Stars with 3.33 and the Panthers with 3.44. Meanwhile, in their last ten games, both teams are allowing close to three goals against per game, with Dallas giving up 2.9 and Florida giving up three. This game will feature four point per game players, including Jonathan Huberdeau who currently has 22 points in 16 games and Joe Pavelski who has 17 in 12.
Monday in the Central (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):
- TAMPA BAY (10-4-1 21P) at CAROLINA (12-3-1 25P) 7 p.m. ESPN+
Idle: CHI (22P), CLS (20P), NSH (14P), DET (13P)
Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets
Fri
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