About the Panthers - 03-09-12
A preview of the Panthers.
When and where: 7 p.m., EST. Consol Energy Center.
TV: Root Sports, Fox Sports Florida.
Record: 31-23-12, 74 points. The Panthers are in third place in the Eastern Conference and first place in the Southeast Division.
Leading Scorer: Kris Versteeg, 49 points (22 goals, 27 assists).
Last Game: 5-0 road loss to the Flyers, last night. Jose Thedore made 30 saves for the Panthers
Last Game against the Penguins: 4-1 home loss, Jan. 13. James Neal had a goal and an assist for the Penguins.
Panthers Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Wojtek Wolski (right). He has nine points in eight career games against the Penguins.
Ex-Penguins on the Panthers: Matt Bradley, RW; Pete Mahovlich, scout; Mikael Samuelsson, RW; Dale Tallon, general manager.
Ex-Panthers on the Penguins: Tom Fitzgerald, assistant to the general manager; Randy Sexton, assistant director of amateur scouting.
Useless Panthers Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The first player to score a shorthanded goal against the Panthers in that franchise's history was Penguins right winger Joe Mullen in a 2-1 Penguins road win, Oct. 12, 1993.
Best Panthers Video We Could Find: Former Panthers defenseman Keith Ballard accidentally slashing his goaltender, Thomas Vokoun, in the head during the 2009-10 season:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (35-14-3, 2.29 GAA, .915 SV%) for the Penguins and Jose Theodore (18-13-6, 2.52 GAA, .916 SV%) for the Panthers.
Injuries: For the Penguins, defenseman Paul Martin (illness) is a game-time decision. Defenseman Deryk Engelland ("lower body") and goaltender Brent Johnson (undisclosed) are day to day. Defenseman Kris Letang (head) are out. Center Sidney Crosby (head/neck) is on injured reserve. For the Panthers, right winger Kris Versteeg ("lower body") is out. Right wingers Matt Bradley ("upper body"), Scottie Upshall (sports hernia) and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (knee) are on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins primary lines at today's morning skate were: (PG+)
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Steve Sullivan - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Joe Vitale - Tyler Kennedy
Arron Asham - Craig Adams - Richard Park
-With Martin questionable and Simon Despres recalled this morning, Dan Bylsma suggested this would be the pairings tonight:
Simon Despres - Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik - Zbynek Michalek
Brian Strait - Ben Lovejoy
-The Panthers' primary lines and defensive pairings against the Flyers last night were:
Sean Bergenheim - Stephen Weiss - Mikael Samuelsson
Tomas Kopecky - Marcel Goc - Jarred Smithson
Tomas Fleischmann - Shawn Matthias - Wojtek Wolski
Krys Barch - Mike Santorelli - Jack Skille
Erik Gudbranson - Ed Jovanovski
Brian Campbell - Jay Garrison
Keaton Ellerby - Mike Weaver
Notes:
-Crosby said he would provide a day's notice prior to re-joining the lineup. (PG+)
-Malkin has 499 career points and 196 career goals.
-Kennedy has 146 career points.
-Orpik has 97 career assists.
-The Penguins have not scored in their past 12 power plays.
-In his career against the Penguins, Theodore has a record of 20-5-3, a 2.37 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and four shutouts.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)