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Florida Panthers at New York Islanders - Game 55 Preview

2012-02-12T17:00:15Z

Florida: 26-17-11 (63PTS)
New York Islanders: 23-23-8 (54PTS)
Season Series: 2-0-0
Game Time: 3:00 PM EST
Television: Fox Sports Florida, MSG Plus
Radio: 640 WFTL

The Panthers make their second afternoon start of the weekend on Long Island today. The Cats' win yesterday gave them a two point lead over the Capitals in the Southeast Division. Both teams have 28 games remaining. The Panthers' point total is also good enough for a playoff berth on its own again, though they would be the eighth seed if not leading the division. The team has the chance to increase that lead today against the Islanders, who are in a three-way tie for twelfth place with Tampa Bay and Buffalo. Washington plays the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden at 12:30. The Rangers are 1-1 against the Capitals this season. Both games were in DC. The Panthers need to show some killer instinct and win today's game, even if it is the second of back to backs. There may be as many as three players in the game who didn't play yesterday, which may help the Cats some. One of those three is starting goaltender Jose Theodore, who has missed a ton of games in 2012, but who appears ready to return.

More from our New York Islanders cohorts at Lighthouse Hockey.
Panthers vs Islanders coverage at SB Nation.
SB Nation Preview.
LBC Game Thread will open 30 minutes prior to puck drop.

News and Notes

Last meeting

The Panthers won 4-2 at home on Tim Kennedy's game winner. Jacob Markstrom had the win.

Last game

The Panthers won the game and the season series with a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils in an afternoon game in Newark.

Lineup

Jason Garrison left the game early last night. It appeared that his foot was hit by a puck. He was replaced in-game by Mikael Samuelsson, but Colby Robak was recalled late last night and will play in his first NHL game the night after scoring the overtime game winner for the Rampage in Rochester. There has been some speculation that Jack Skille will return today, possibly in for Matt Bradley, but we probably won't know for sure until game time.

Injuries

F Scottie Upshall (core), 2/1, 6 to 8 weeks
F Jack Skille (shoulder), 12/16, day-to-day
F Marco Sturm (lower body), 2/2 unknown
G Jacob Markstrom (knee), 1/7, 4 to 6 weeks
D Ed Jovanovski (hand), 1/16, week-to-week
D Dmitry Kulikov (knee), 1/21, 6 to 8 weeks
D Jason Garrison (lower body), 2/11, unknown

Possible Scratches

F Matt Bradley

Starting goaltenders:

Theodore will get the start against the Isles' Evgeni Nabokov.

Lines

Forwards

Fleischmann-Weiss-Versteeg
Bergenheim-Goc-Samuelsson
Kopecky-Matthias-Santorelli
Barch-Madden-Bradley/Skille

Defense

Campbell-Gudbranson
Robak/Strachan-Weaver
Strachan/Robak-Ellerby

Sunday Caterwaul: Panthers GameDay Open Forum

2012-02-12T14:46:33Z

"It was funny how we dominated early and that was probably the worst thing because maybe we thought it was going to be easy."

Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, following a 17-save performance in Saturday's losing effort vs. Florida. (NorthJersey.com/Gulitti)

Final - 2.11.2012	1	2	3	Total
Florida Panthers	1	1	1	3
New Jersey Devils	1	0	0	1

Complete Coverage >

RECAPS: Litter Box Cats * SB Nation * In Lou We Trust

The Eastern Front

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OT	PTS	GF	GA	Home	Away	L10	Stk
1	NY Rangers	53	35	13	5	75	150	108	17-6-2	18-7-3	7-2-1	Won 2
2	Boston	53	34	17	2	70	184	120	18-9-2	16-8-0	5-4-1	Won 1
3	Florida	54	26	17	11	63	137	151	14-5-7	12-12-4	5-3-2	Won 2
4	Philadelphia	55	31	17	7	69	179	165	13-9-5	18-8-2	4-3-3	Lost 1
5	Pittsburgh	55	31	19	5	67	171	146	16-7-2	15-12-3	7-2-1	Won 1
6	New Jersey	55	31	20	4	66	154	155	15-10-3	16-10-1	5-3-2	Lost 1
7	Ottawa	58	28	22	8	64	169	181	15-11-3	13-11-5	2-6-2	OT 1
8	Toronto	55	28	21	6	62	171	161	16-8-4	12-13-2	6-3-1	Lost 2

9	Washington	54	28	21	5	61	151	152	19-7-2	9-14-3	4-3-3	OT 1
10	Winnipeg	57	26	25	6	58	139	161	16-8-2	10-17-4	4-5-1	Lost 1
11	Tampa Bay	54	24	24	6	54	153	181	15-8-2	9-16-4	7-1-2	Won 1
12	NY Islanders	54	23	23	8	54	130	155	12-12-5	11-11-3	6-2-2	Won 1
13	Buffalo	55	24	25	6	54	136	158	13-10-6	11-15-0	5-4-1	Lost 1
14	Montreal	55	22	24	9	53	144	149	11-11-7	11-13-2	5-4-1	Won 3
15	Carolina	56	20	25	11	51	142	172	14-12-3	6-13-8	4-2-4	OT 2

Why Saturday rocked:

PIT over WPG, 8-5; Jets after 31 road games: 67GF, 102GA
NYR over PHI, 5-2; Flyers: 8 goals scored in last four games (1-2-1)
MTL over TOR, 5-0; Leafs' tenders faced 18 shots. Total.
EDM over OTW, 4-3 (OT); falls under "rocks" category due to host Sens' failure to hold two leads

Why Saturday jonesed:

No actual joneses to be found. A good day.

Panthers Playoff Update:

FLA defeated New Jersey 3-1; playoff odds up 10 to 83.1% per Sports Club Stats

Why today is a Big Deal in SoFla, beyond the obvious:

WSH at NYR, 12:30 p.m. (NBC); no introduction needed here
TB at PIT, 7; after pulling for Pens a day ago, we're all about the Bolts now
PHI at DET, 7:30 (NBC-SN); Flyers are 2-14 at Joe Louis Arena since 1990

Next up for the Cats:

Another (not quite so) early start, this time from Uniondale; LBC Game Thread powers up at 2:30. Meantime, check out our pals at Lighthouse Hockey and Islanders Point Blank.

Did you know:

Former Islander Sean Bergenheim has recorded 6 shorties and 5 gamewinners in 128 appearances at Nassau Coliseum

Saturday’s Organizational Transactions:

D Colby Robak recalled from San Antonio

San Antonio's Robak rewarded, will play first NHL game Sunday

2012-02-11T23:13:50Z

The Panthers have called up second-year pro prospect Colby Robak to replace defensive stalwart Jason Garrison for Sunday's 3 p.m. road match against the New York Islanders. Garrison left Saturday's eventual 3-1 Florida victory over New Jersey with has been deemed by the club to be a lower-body injury. Whatever that means.

Robak, a recent AHL All-Star at 21, is a second-round selection (46th overall) of the Panthers in 2008. He currently shares the points lead among Rampage blueliners - with newly-acquired Sean Sullivan - at 25 (7G/18A) in 48 games. A year ago - his first outside of the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings - the 6-3 defenseman collected 24 points (7G) in 76 games for then-Florida AHL affiliate Rochester.

Panthers shake early deficit for 3-1 comeback victory over Devils

2012-02-11T21:02:20Z

Don't look now, but after a bad loss in Washington that could have spelled disaster for the remainder of the Florida Panthers season, the Cats have strung together two solid wins against two quality opponents. The latest, a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils marks the 10th time this season the Panthers have allowed a goal in the first 2 minutes of the game, but this time Florida would have an answer. This afternoon the Panthers beat New Jersey at their own game, taking a lead and meticulously defending it until the final horn sounded. Again we saw another defensively minded game backed by solid goaltending when needed and enough offense to get the job done; it wasn't pretty, but it did work.

So where does this put the Panthers? A loss to the Devils certainly wouldn't have been a blown game, but certainly a chip off a less than bulletproof team morale, while a road win against an arguably superior opponent puts Florida in a much more optimistic position. As the schedule continues to ease up, a winning streak certainly isn't out of reach. Two big victories may sow the seeds of a genuine playoff push, or just be more of the same .500 pattern we've seen of late. Whatever the future holds, a well rounded win over New Jersey ends a 2-1-1 season series with the Devils and proves the Panthers are taking it one game at a time, as they should.

Final - 2.11.2012	1	2	3	Total
Florida Panthers	1	1	1	3
New Jersey Devils	1	0	0	1

Complete Coverage >

Find other recaps at In Lou We Trust and SBN Tampa Bay

Scoring Summary:

1st

-Steve Bernier(1) at 1:39 assists to Alexei Ponikarovsky and Dainius Zubrus

-Sean Bergenheim(11) PPG at 15:08 assists to Erik Gudbranson and Marcel Goc

2nd

-Kris Versteeg(21) at 7:43 assists to Stephen Weiss and Tomas Fleischmann

3rd

-Mikael Samuelsson(7) ENG at 19:35 assist to Goc

SUPERIMPORTANT EDIT: Mike Weaver would get an assist on Sammy's empty netter, tying his points total from last year at 13. Still waiting for that goal.

Observations:

Whats with the early start times today? It isn't even Sunday, no superbowl, so why exactly did I have to stumble out of bed so early?
Of course it's only typical to give up an early goal to a former Panther, one with a grand total of zero goals since leaving Florida. Maybe other teams know to throw garbage shots on goal early in the game since Florida doesn't wake up until the second period.
I'm all for shuffling the top line again, maybe replacing them with the Euro line. I don't see how it could hurt, especially since none of our top scorers are able to break into the zone.
It's pretty good to score a powerplay goal against the second best penalty killing team in the league, especially with our sputtering man advantage. I'm usually one to yell 'PASS' rather than 'SHOOT' on the powerplay, but sometimes winding up from the point works too. Either way, I'll take it.
With 11 goals in 33 games, you have to wonder if Sean Bergenheim would be leading the team in scoring if he wasn't fighting off injury earlier in the season. The team just seems different when he's in the lineup, the penalty killing and team speed seem to improve improve tremendously.
Though no one ever talks about them, New Jersey does have their fair share of 'stars' in Patrik Elias, Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise. Add in a very promising(though injured) defenseman Adam Larsson and its no surprise how well the Devils have played this year. Even David "Never heard of him" Clarkson has 21 goals.
OK, maybe I wrote off the top line a little to early. It was a fluky goal to take the 2-1 lead, but all three linemates contributed to put the Panthers up by one.
The second period would be noticeably better than the first for the Panthers, they kept the Devils chances limited while closing the gap on the once 10-1 shot deficit.
Jason Garrison wouldn't be on the bench for the third period, word on the street is a lower body injury. HNNGGGGGGG.
Believe it or not, Mikael Samuelsson would fill in for Garrison as the sixth defenseman. Cant we find a less skilled player to fill in, Kevin? *coughBarchcough*
Nice marching band, New Jersey.
Come to think of it, I like hockey games that end while the sun is still shining, even though the Cats are usually terrible in matinee games.
Pete DeBoer has shown his true quality with the Devils. As we all knew last year; despite his shortcomings and lack of emotion, Petey was a good coach playing a style his roster wasn't built for. His roster wasn't built for anything, actually. Given some high end talent in New Jersey, he's made the most of it. Good for him, I've never been one to hate on someone who didn't deserve it.
No matter how well Kovy plays, I will always snicker when he shows frustration. That's just how it is.

Chris' First Star: Gotta go with Scott Clemmensen, he allows a goal 1:39 in and shuts the door for the next 58:21. 26 saves for the Clemm versus his old team.

Chris' Worst Star: No one really stood out as having a bad game, so I'll just throw this out for today.

Panthers vs Devils - LBC Game Thread

2012-02-11T17:30:15Z

RADIO: WFTL TV: FS-F SBN: In Lou We Trust

2011-12: FLA 25-17-11 (61P) * NJ: 31-19-4 (62P)

ALL-TIME: 24-39-7-4-2 * 163GF - 215GA

ALL-TIME @ NJ: 10-22-3-2-0 * 73GF - 116GA

MEDIA NOTES: Game 54

Next Game

Florida Panthers
@ New Jersey Devils

Saturday, Feb 11, 2012, 1:00 PM EST
Prudential Center

Florida Panthers at New Jersey Devils - Game 54 Preview

posted by John Beatty about 1 hour ago

0 comments | 0 recs

Saturday quickie Caterwaul: Panthers early-start edition

posted by Donny Rivette about 4 hours ago

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Friday Caterwaul: Panthers Open Forum

posted by Donny Rivette 1 day ago

55 comments | 0 recs

Complete Coverage >

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2011 - Martin Brodeur	35	1936	18	12		86	2.67	852	766	.899	1

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2011 - Scott Clemmensen	20	1087	9	4		49	2.70	545	496	.910	1

*** LBC Game Thread Guidelines ***

Please remain on-topic, keep your comments respectful and PG-rated, do not post or request links to illegal/"pirate" video feeds (these will be immediately deleted with the potential for a follow-up warning or worse), and note that sharing large-scale pictures or graphics can significantly slow site performance for everyone. Thanks for hanging with us & enjoy the game!

Also...

For those unaware, scroll up to the grey box in the righthand sidebar; locate "View" and click "Wide". The site will appear as it was properly designed & configured (and will default to it upon login).

Florida Panthers at New Jersey Devils - Game 54 Preview

2012-02-11T15:18:56Z

Florida: 25-17-11 (61PTS)
New Jersey: 31-19-4 (66PTS)
Season Series: 1-1-1
Game Time: 1:00 PM EST
Television: Fox Sports Florida, MSG Plus 2
Radio: 640 WFTL

This afternoon is the last game of the season against Pete DeBoer's New Jersey Devils. The Panthers won the first matchup and have lost the last two. The Panthers reclaimed first in the Southeast Division by virtue of a game on hand on the Capitals, but they need to string some wins together to lock the division lead. The Cats have a good chance to pick up points this weekend. The Devils have been good, but the Panthers have, for the most part, played well against them this season. While Patrik Elias complained about losing to a "one line" team early in the season, the second and third lines are now scoring, with the second line of Sean Bergenheim, Marcel Goc and Mikael Samuelsson in particular having a few good games in the last couple of weeks. The early start in particular means the Panthers have to be better at the beginning of the first period than they have been. If they can play a good first five, they have a good chance to win this one.

More from our New Jersey cohorts at In Lou We Trust.
Panthers vs Devils coverage at SB Nation.
SB Nation Preview.
LBC Game Thread will open 30 minutes prior to puck drop.

News and Notes

Last meeting

The Devils beat up on the Panthers in their first visit to New Jersey, winning 5-2. Ilya Kovalchuk had the game winner, with Johan Hedberg having the win in goal.

Last game

The Panthers beat the Kings 3-1 in Sunrise on Thursday night.

Lineup

No lineup changes are expected today. Ed Jovanovski is now about two weeks from returning.

Injuries

F Scottie Upshall (core), 2/1, 6 to 8 weeks
F Jack Skille (shoulder), 12/16, at least a week
F Marco Sturm (lower body), 2/2 unknown
G Jacob Markstrom (knee), 1/7, 4 to 6 weeks
D Ed Jovanovski (hand), 1/16, week to week
D Dmitry Kulikov (knee), 1/21, 6 to 8 weeks

Possible Scratches

None

Starting goaltenders:

Martin Brodeur will be starting for the Devils. Scott Clemmensen will probably start against his former team, with Jose Theodore returning to action against the Islanders on Sunday.

Lines

Forwards

Fleischmann-Weiss-Versteeg
Bergenheim-Goc-Samuelsson
Kopecky-Matthias-Bradley
Barch-Madden-Santorelli

Defense

Campbell-Gudbranson
Garrison-Weaver
Strachan-Ellerby

Saturday quickie Caterwaul: Panthers early-start edition

2012-02-11T13:01:44Z

With a 1 p.m. puck drop on tap in Newark, we'll get right to the meat of today's action: the Eastern Conference hasn't changed with any respect to Florida since Thursday (current standings as of Friday night), so here's the rundown on Matches That Matter to the Panthers:

WPG (58P) at PIT (65P), 2 p.m.; not really stumped on this one
EDM at OTW (63P), 2; less stumped on this one
MTL at TOR (62P), 7; far less stumped here

Preview coming up later this morning, followed by the LBC Panthers vs Devils Game Thread at 12:30. Don't bother asking: completely agree this early afternoon deal is a ridiculous start time.