Panthers Return Home From Long Trip, Face Defending Champ Penguins
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SUNRISE (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – Following a division championship last season, things haven't exactly gone as planned for the Florida Panthers.
General manager/interim coach Tom Rowe is doing his best to remain positive in the face of a pronounced negative.
With four losses in five games since dismissing former coach Gerard Gallant, Rowe and the Panthers look to turn around their fortunes on Thursday as they open a modest two-game homestand against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"There's too many positives to get down," Rowe told the Miami Herald after his team dropped its third straight to cap a six-game road trip with Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to Philadelphia. "Keep building on what we've started. ... We are moving on. We're moving forward. It's a great group of guys, great players. A lot of fun to coach and we have a lot of great days ahead of us."
Pittsburgh has been having plenty of fun with its offense, which has erupted for 19 goals during its three-game winning streak.
"This group has provided enough evidence that regardless of what happens, we have the firepower, the talent level, the capability to win games," coach Mike Sullivan told reporters on the heels of Tuesday's 8-5 win over Ottawa. "There's a belief that regardless of what the score is, we can win."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Florida
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (16-7-3): Sidney Crosby scored his league high-tying 17th goal on Tuesday to extend his point streak to five games (three goals, five assists) while fellow former Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin has collected 11 points (two goals, nine assists) during his six-game run.
"They're dynamic players. These guys are difference-makers," Sullivan said of those two and Phil Kessel, who has recorded three goals and as many assists in his last three games. "Most nights, these guys have been a threat for us. When they play like that, they make us better."
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (12-11-4): Aleksander Barkov has left a 21-game goalless drought in his rear-view mirror with three tallies in his last four contests.
Fellow forward Jaromir Jagr has recorded three goals and an assist in his last seven games but torched the team with which he began his eventual Hall-of-Fame career with 46 points (24 goals, 22 assists) in 55 career encounters.
Roberto Luongo, who is seven years younger than the 44-year-old Jagr and owns a 14-9-5 career record versus the Penguins, is expected to be back in net after getting the night off on Tuesday.
OVERTIME
- Seventeen of the 19 skaters on the Penguins recorded at least one point during the team's three-game homestand.
- Florida is 0-for-15 on the power play this month.
- Pittsburgh shuffled D Derrick Pouliot and C Jake Guentzel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.
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