(Sorry for the delay in posting this, it's been a crazy one today.)
The Florida Panthers, (24-25-9) are in town tonight to meet the Carolina Hurricanes, (21-30-7) for a match at the RBC. The Canes have won two games in a row and six of their last eight. The team just finished a four game road trip and will play their next three contests at home before shutting down for the Olympic break.
The Panthers have lost three in a row and four of their last five.
Tuomo Ruutu will make a return tonight after missing 15 games because of an upper body injury. He will start out on the Brandon Sutter line. (Zach Boychuk was reassigned to Albany a couple of days ago.)
- Staal, Whitney, Jokinen
- Cullen, Samsonov, Kostopoulos
- Sutter, Ruutu, Dwyer
- Yelle, Brind'Amour, Goertzen
Now that Niclas Wallin is officially a San Jose Shark, Brett Carson's future with the team looks more stable than ever. The starting six on the blueline will be: Corvo, Pitkanen, Gleason, Ward, Alberts, and Carson.
Manny Legace will get the start in goal. Legace is 2-1-3 lifetime against the Panthers.
Jussi Jokinen has a six game scoring streak in play.
Don't forget that the first 5,000 10,000 fans get free Tuomo Ruutu bobbleheads.
FSN will not be broadcasting this game. I will be reporting from the rink and will have the "Open Game Thread" here starting up at 6:30.
For more information about the Panthers, check out the Litter Box Cats.