(3) Panthers - (6) Devils preview - 04-10-12
(3) Panthers vs. (6) Devils
Panthers Leading Regular Season Scorer: Tomas Fleischmann (right), 61 points (27 goals, 34 assists).
Devils Leading Regular Season Scorer: Ilya Kovalchuk, 83 points (37 goals, 46 assists).
Panthers Expected Starting Goaltender: Scott Clemmensen, 14-6-6, 2.57 GAA, .913 SV% or Jose Theodore, 22-16-11, 2.46 GAA, .917 SV%.
Devils Expected Starting Goaltender: Martin Brodeur, 31-21-4, 2.41 GAA, .908 SV%.
Panthers Regular Season Statistics
Devils Regular Season Statistics
Panthers Injuries: Right winger Jack Skille (shoulder) is out. Right winger Matt Bradley (concussion) is on injured reserve.
Devils Injuries: Right winger David Clarkson ("lower body"") and defenseman Anton Volchenkov (illness) are probable. Center Jacob Josefsen (wrist) is out. Defenseman Henrik Tallinder (blood clot - leg) is on injured reserve.
Panthers with Stanley Cup bling: Brian Campbell, D; John Madden, C; Mikael Samuelsson, RW; Kris Versteeg, LW.
Devils with Stanley Cup bling: Ryan Carter, C; Martin Brodeur (below), G; Patrik Elias, C; Petr Sykora, RW.
Something worthwhile about the Panthers: Campbell led the NHL this season with an average of 26:54 of ice time this season.
Something worthwhile about the Devils: The Devils set a modern-era record for penalty kill success rate this past season at 89.6 percent.
Something useless about the Panthers that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: The Panthers all-time career leader in postseason points by a center is former Penguin Stu Barnes with 16.
Something useless about the Devils that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: Former Penguins center Mark Johnson holds the Devils' record for most goals in a postseason game. He scored four 10-4 win against the Capitals in Game 3 of the 1988 Patrick Division final.
Former Penguins on the Panthers: Matt Bradley, RW; Peter Mahovlich, professional scout; Mikael Samuelsson, RW; Dale Tallon, general manager.
Former Penguins on the Devils: Johan Hedberg, G; Alexei Ponikarovsky, LW; Petr Sykora, RW.
Who needs to be the difference for the Panthers: Fleischmann, Versteeg, Stephen Weiss, etc. The Panthers need to find a way to create some offense from some limited sources. The Panthers aren't blessed with a wealth of offensive skill and they're facing a disciplined defensive team. They need to scrape out some offense somewhere.
Who needs to be the difference for the Devils: Anton Volchenkov, Andy Greene, Bryce Salvador, Marek Zidlicky, Mark Fayne, etc. The Panthers have limited sources of offense. The Devils need to channel the glory days of this franchise and choke the life out of Florida's offense. That begins on the blue line.
Best Panthers YouTube Video We Could Find: Considering the Panthers have such a miniscule playoff history, anything referred to as "The Goal" is pretty big. Here's left winger Bill Linsdsay's series-clinching goal in a 4-3 win against the Bruins in Game 4 of a 1996 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series:
{youtube width="465" height="345"}INy3BwVfBr4{/youtube}
Best Devils YouTube Video We Could Find: Devils right winger Randy McKay climbing the glass after scoring an overtime goal in a 1-0 win against the Bruins in a 1995 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series:
{youtube width="465" height="345"}rgPfz49AYsc{/youtube}
EN Prediction: The Panthers sort of backed into the playoffs having lost five of their final six regular season games. The Devils did the exact opposite winning their final six games. This is two teams heading in opposite directions. Devils 4-1.
(Photos: Fleischmann-Al Bello/Getty Images; Brodeur-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)