Panthers Need A Win Against Philly
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (CBSMiami) – The last time the Florida Panthers saw the Philadelphia Flyers on the ice, the Cats were on the wrong side of a 5-0 shellacking. Tuesday night, the Panthers hope they can continue their momentum towards the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Both teams would have to stumble mightily to miss the postseason and both teams are vying for a potential top three seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Florida is riding its first four-game winning streak since 2008 and has gained points in each of the last five games. The Cats had extended their lead to five points until Monday night when the Washington Capitals closed the lead to three points as Florida was idle.
Florida extended its winning streak over the weekend by winning a thrilling seven-frame shootout with the Buffalo Sabres. Florida goalie Jose Theodore stoned the Sabres at the end as a Sabres player tried to go five-hole on Theodore in the shootout.
"We've got a long, long road until the end of the season," coach Kevin Dineen said. "It'll be a tough stretch for us. We know there's some quality teams that we're going to face, but I like going out on the ice with these guys every day."
One such tough opponent will be a Philadelphia squad Florida can't seem to solve.
The Flyers have gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 after rallying for a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday, when Scott Hartnell scored his second goal of the game with less than a second remaining in overtime.
Philadelphia is in fifth place in the East, one point behind the fourth-place Penguins and within striking distance of the conference-leading New York Rangers.
Faceoff for the Flyers game is set for 7:00 p.m. in Philadelphia.
