Panthers In Philly For First Road Match Of The Season
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PHILADELPHIA (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – Philadelphia is one of the last cities in the NHL to host its season opener.
The Philadelphia Flyers look to exact revenge and post their first victory of the season when they host the Florida Panthers on Monday in the back end of a home-and-home series.
Philadelphia opened 2015-16 with a 3-2 loss at Tampa Bay in the inaugural game that featured 3-on-3 play in overtime before concluding their trip to the Sunshine State with an embarrassing 7-1 setback at Florida.
Defenseman Mark Streit snapped the Panthers' string of five consecutive goals to start the game by converting a power-play chance 3 1/2 minutes into the second period.
Newcomer Reilly Smith and former Flyer Jaromir Jagr each scored twice while Vincent Trocheck recorded a goal and three assists as Florida rolled in its season opener.
Florida set a modern-day NHL record for the fastest four tallies to begin a campaign as Trocheck, Nick Bjugstad, Smith and Jussi Jokinen scored in the first 6:46 of the contest.
The Panthers won two of their three meetings with the Flyers last season, including one in a shootout at Philadelphia.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, FSN Florida, CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (1-0-0): Jagr raised his career goals total to 724, pulling him within seven of tying Marcel Dionne for fourth place on the all-time list.
Florida also set a franchise record for the fastest four goals to start a game, crushing the previous mark of 9:35 set on Oct. 30, 2000 against New Jersey.
Trocheck netted the fastest goal to start a season in Panthers history, scoring 1:23 into the contest.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (0-1-1): Philadelphia's road struggles have continued this season, as it has lost 20 of its last 25 contests away from home.
Steve Mason had a night to forget Saturday, allowing four goals on eight shots before being pulled to fall to 7-3-1 lifetime against the Panthers.
Michal Neuvirth made his Flyers debut, yielding three goals on 22 shots in relief of Mason.
OVERTIME
- The Flyers look to avoid losing their first three games for the fourth straight campaign.
- Florida C Brandon Pirri notched two assists Saturday, matching his total from last season.
- Streit's power-play goal Saturday was Philadelphia's first against the Panthers since 2013-14.
The Panthers head north to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, October 12th at 7 p.m. You can hear every game on Sports Radio 560 WQAM, the radio home of the Florida Panthers.
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