Panthers In Detroit For Rematch With Red Wings
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DETROIT (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – The Florida Panthers are having a great season with a strong mix of youth and age.
Jaromir Jagr is slated to become the 10th player in NHL history to reach 1,600 games Monday, when he and the Panthers visit the Atlantic Division-rival Detroit Red Wings.
The 43-year-old Jagr, who is tied with Jonathan Huberdeau for the team lead with 37 points, has scored 738 career goals – three shy of Brett Hull for third place on the all-time list – as Florida looks to extend its point streak to seven games.
The Panthers, who defeated the Red Wings 6-3 on Thursday as part of their current 5-0-1 run, lead second-place Tampa Bay and Boston by six points in the Atlantic, with Detroit sitting eight back.
The Red Wings go for back-to-back home victories for the first time in almost two months after knocking off the New York Islanders 5-1 on Saturday to snap a five-game slide (0-4-1) at Joe Louis Arena.
"It's imperative that we get our wins here at home," Red Wings defenseman Mike Green told reporters. "We haven't been getting our points here at home, and (Saturday) was a big night for us to get in the right direction."
Detroit is 12-10-5 at home overall.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Florida, FSN Detroit Plus
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (31-15-6): Huberdeau has cooled off a bit, going without a point in his last two games, but 20-year-old center Aleksander Barkov has recorded a goal in four straight contests and at least one point in six in a row.
Jussi Jokinen also is riding a six-game point streak (two goals, seven assists) and Vincent Trocheck has registered at least one in five consecutive contests (five goals, four assists).
Veteran Willie Mitchell (lower body) is expected to miss his seventh straight game and fellow defenseman Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is day-to-day.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (26-18-8): Following two straight losses, coach Jeff Blashill shook up his forward lines Saturday - putting captain Henrik Zetterberg with fellow veteran Pavel Datsyuk and the gritty Justin Abdelkader.
Rookie Dylan Larkin, who has scored three goals in two games and leads the team with 18 tallies and 37 points, played on a unit with Brad Richards and Darren Helm.
The Red Wings hope to keep Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist going as the young forwards have combined for seven points over the last three games.
OVERTIME
- Detroit C Andreas Athanasiou joined the lineup Saturday for the first time since mid-November, recording an assist and a plus-2 rating.
- The Panthers, who lead the league in goals allowed (2.21), have scored eight power-play goals over their last five games.
- Florida has won both meetings with Detroit this season, three in a row and five of the last six.
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