Florida Panthers Open Six-Game Road Trip in Philly

Tonight at 7:00 P.M., the Philadelphia Flyers will host the Florida Panthers at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.

This is the second of three meetings this season between the two clubs. The Flyers won the first, 6-5 in the shootout back on October 16th, also at Wells-Fargo Center. They’ll face off with the Florida Panthers for the final time this season on December 29th at BB&T Center.

The Panthers opened the season with four straight losses and were 2-5-3 before winning their last four straight. Tonight, they’ll open a season-high six-game road trip.

After tonight, they’ll play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, the New York Rangers on Saturday, the Ottawa Senators on Monday, the Tampa Bay Lightning next Wednesday, and the Carolina Hurricanes next Friday.

The Flyers have opened the campaign with a 9-7-1 record. They’re currently on a six-game point streak and are looking to make it seven against Florida. This will be the third game of a five-game homestand for the Flyers.

They defeated the Arizona Coyotes, 5-4 in overtime on Thursday and the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 on Saturday to start. After tonight’s game, they’ll host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday and the Lightning on Saturday.

"“I felt good today. I feel like I’ve had some good games where I didn’t get the result, but it came together today for the whole team.” – Reimer, as quoted on NHL.com"

Flyers Last

On Saturday, the Flyers defeated the Blackhawks in front of 19,355 at Wells-Fargo Center by a 4-0 final score. Sean Couturier (6, 7) scored two goals and an assist, Claude Giroux (7) scored a goal with two assists, and Nolan Patrick (5) added an empty-netter with one minute left. Brian Elliott stopped all 33 of Chicago’s shots on net.

"“We’re playing a really good team game, defense, the goalie, the forwards. I think our chemistry is a lot better, and when you have a little confidence, everything goes pretty well.” – Giroux, as quoted by Adam Kimelman at NHL.com"

All-Time Series

The Florida Panthers are 36-45-7-8 in 96 games against the Flyers. Their resultant .453 points percentage ranks as their eighth-worst against any team, and the second worst from the Eastern Conference (they’re worst against the New Jersey Devils).

This Day in History

In nine games on November 13, the Florida Panthers are 2-5-1-1, and they haven’t won since 1999. That’s when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1 with two second period goals by Radek Dvorak (2, 3) and a shorthanded marker by Pavel Bure (7).

Trevor Kidd earned the win that day, making 36 saves. The video above is from that season, but not from that game. The Panthers are 0-2-0-1 on this date against the Flyers.

Standings

Florida Panthers: 6-5-3, .536 points percentage, 15 points, on pace for 88 points, sixth-of-eight in the Atlantic Division, 10th-of-16 in the Eastern Conference, 18th-of-31 in the NHL. Last Five: L-W-W-W-W, Playoff Odds: 48.0%.

Philadelphia Flyers: 9-7-1, .559 points percentage, 19 points, on pace for 92 points, fourth-of-eight in the Metropolitan Division, ninth-of-16 in the Eastern Conference, 17th-of-31 in the NHL. Last Five: W-O-W-W-W, Playoff Odds: 46.5%.

Starting Lineup

Florida Panthers

63–16–68
11–21–72
62–90–27
22–91–7

19–5
3–6
55–52

1 (unconfirmed)

Philadelphia Flyers

Giroux – Couturier – Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom – Nolan Patrick – Jakub Voracek
Dale Weise – Jordan Weal – Wayne Simmonds
Scott Laughton – Jori Lehtera – Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Ivan Provorov – Robert Hagg
Shane Gostisbehere – Christian Folin
Travis Sanheim – Radko Gudas

Elliott (unconfirmed)

Injury Report

Derek MacKenzie is still on the injured reserve with a shoulder injury, with an undetermined timetable for return.

Mark Pysyk is out with an upper-body injury (likely a concussion courtesy of All-Star and thug Alexander Ovechkin).

Milestones

Games: Nick Bjugstad is currently tied with Brian Campbell in 15th with 376 games played, and will move into sole possession of that spot after the game starts.

Goals: Dadonov’s next goal will move him past Jozef Stumpel into 34th on the all-time leaderboard, with 46. Ekblad’s next marker will be his 54th, moving him into a tie for 21st all-time with Tomas Fleischmann and Tom Fitzgerald. Huberdeau, who is currently in 10th place all-time, is stuck on 99 goals. Victor Kozlov is in ninth, with 101.

Assists: Dadonov needs two assists to tie him in 42nd with Paul Laus, with 58. Ekblad will tie Stumpel with his next assist, number 84, in 23rd place. Keith Yandle needs two helpers to tie Bill Lindsay in 19th, at 98 assists. Vincent Trocheck is tied with Ray Whitney in 13th all-time with 130 assists.

Points: Dadonov has 101 points, and will tie Ed Jovanovski in 40th with his next. Ekblad needs two to tie Dmitry Kulikov in 21st with 138.

Goaltender Games: Roberto Luongo is well ahead of second place John Vanbiesbrouck. With three more games played he will double the Beezer, 536-to-268.

More from Panthers News

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• Florida Panthers re-sign defensemen Casey Fitzgerald and John Ludvig
• Evan Rodrigues Signing Was a Steal for the Florida Panthers
• An epic run to remember for the Florida Panthers

Stat Leaders

Games: Petrovic, Ekblad, Bjugstad, Trocheck, Barkov, Huberdeau, Hoffman, Yandle, Dadonov – 14

Goals: Hoffman, Dadonov – 7, Vatrano, Barkov – 5

Assists: Yandle – 12, Huberdeau – 10, Trocheck, Dadonov – 9

Points: Dadonov – 16, Yandle – 15, Huberdeau, Hoffman – 14

Plus-Minus: Bjugstad +7, MacKenzie Weegar +4, Bogdan Kiselevich, Dadonov +3

Blocked Shots: Petrovic – 27, Mike Matheson, Weegar – 16

Hits: Petrovic – 46, Trocheck – 32, Troy Brouwer – 20

Faceoff Percentage: Trocheck – 54.8%, Barkov – 53.4%, Bjugstad – 52.9%, Lammikko – 52.0%, McCann – 46.4%

Shots-on-Goal: Hoffman – 49, Yandle, Trocheck 41

Birthdays

Former Panthers Mark Fitzpatrick (50), Juraj Kolnik (38), and Jason Garrison (34) celebrate birthdays today.

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