Panthers Aim For First Road Win Against Feisty Carolina
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
RALEIGH (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – For the second night in a row the Florida Panthers will face a goaltender making their debut with a new team.
Eddie Lack is expected to make his first start in net for the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, when they host the Florida Panthers.
Lack, who was acquired from Vancouver in the offseason and signed to a contract extension, looks to help the Hurricanes avoid an 0-3-0 start after they wasted a 47-shot performance in a 4-3 loss to Detroit on Saturday.
"We've done some good things," Carolina forward Jeff Skinner told the Raleigh News & Observer. "If we keep playing the way we are and keep sticking with it, I think things will pay off for us."
Florida scored seven goals on 30 shots in its opener against Philadelphia at home on Saturday but was shut out by the same club on the road two nights later while registering 31 attempts on net.
The Panthers went 3-for-7 on the power play in the first game and failed on six tries with the man advantage in the 1-0 defeat in Philadelphia.
Florida is in the middle of a stretch during which it plays five of seven games on the road.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Florida, FSN Carolinas
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (1-1-0): Veteran Jaromir Jagr notched a pair of goals on Saturday, pushing his career total to 724 (fifth in NHL history).
Jagr is older (43) than the combined ages of his two linemates – Jonathan Huberdeau (22) and Aleksander Barkov (20) – and 11 of the 20 players the Panthers suited up in the first two games are under 25.
Roberto Luongo has stopped 70-of-72 shots in two contests and was 2-0-0 against Carolina last season, but backup Al Montoya is expected to start Tuesday.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (0-2-0): Cam Ward started the first two games for Carolina, allowing six goals on 44 shots, and gives way to Lack (18-13-4 last season).
Defenseman Justin Faulk is the only player who has registered more than one point for the Hurricanes, notching a power-play goal and an assist.
Carolina likely has lost defenseman James Wisniewski (ACL) for the season and center Riley Nash is expected to miss 10-14 days with a shoulder injury he sustained Saturday against Detroit.
OVERTIME
- The Panthers took all three meetings last season while outscoring the Hurricanes 9-1 after Carolina swept the three-game series the previous campaign.
- Florida RW Reilly Smith was the only player on the team without a shot on goal Monday after scoring twice in his Panthers debut.
- Carolina's 18-year-old rookie D Noah Hanifin has recorded an assist and a plus-1 rating in his first two NHL contests.
The Panthers face the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, October 13th at 7 p.m. You can hear every game on Sports Radio 560 WQAM, the radio home of the Florida Panthers.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sports Direct Inc. contributed to this report.)
