Be there and be square when the Cats take on the Calgary Flames this afternoon in the dreaded matinee game!
After an exciting win over the Oilers on Thursday in their Stanley Cup rematch game, the Panthers welcome the 28-22-8 Flames to South Florida, and with them, former-Cats: Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar, and agitator Ryan Lomberg.
Always fun seeing those guys again.
THIS AFTERNOON
I think the Panthers take this one. But it’s going to be a battle.
As the
Panthers site points out:
“With Matthew Tkachuk’s injury still be diagnosed, the Panthers are expected to roll out their same lineup against the Flames, with Bobrovsky sliding back in between the pipes.
Standing tall over his last eight starts, Bobrovsky is 6-2-0 with a .928 save percentage.
Sam Reinhart leads Florida in goals (31) and points (64), while Aleksander Barkov has dished out the most assists (40). Tallying a team-high three points (one goal, two assists) against the Oilers, Anton Lundell is fifth on the team in points with 40, including 14 goals.
Across the ice, the Panthers will see a familiar face.
A member of last season’s Stanley Cup-winning squad, Ryan Lomberg will play his first game in Sunrise since joining the Flames on a two-year contract this past summer.
Becoming a fan favorite for physicality and personality, Lomberg tallied 49 points (28 goals, 21 assists) and 327 penalty minutes in 246 games over parts of four seasons with Florida.
As it has been for other returning champions this season, a warm welcome is expected.
“It’s great to share that with Ryan and the fans because he had a connection there and a connection certainly to our team,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Lomberg’s return. “You get to enjoy that. These guys are all playing on different teams now, but you still feel like they’re yours. They’re part of that collective memory that’ll never change.”
Just one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, the Flames sit at 28-22-8. On Tuesday, they saw their two-game winning streak snapped with a 3-0 loss at Tampa Bay during the second stop on their six-game road trip.
A low-event affair, the Flames limited the Lightning to just 22 shots on goal, but simply couldn’t find the goals they needed themselves as Andrei Vasilevskiy posted a 28-save shutout.
In the hunt for the Calder Trophy, Dustin Wolf stopped 19 of 21 shots in the loss.
Just 23 years old, Wolf, who’s seen a sharp increase in playing time since Calgary starter Jacob Markstrom was lost to an injury, owns a 20-12-3 record with a .913 save percentage.
At the time of this writing, the Flames have yet to announce a starter.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri are tied for the most points on Calgary with 43 apiece, while Huberdeau also paces the team in goals with 22. Fellow former Panther MacKenzie Weegar leads the team’s defensemen with 32 points (six goals, 26 assists).
In their first meeting this season on Dec. 14, Wolf turned aside all 32 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the Panthers at Scotiabank Saddledome.”
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Go Panthers!
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