Panthers at Sharks
THE STORY: The first-place Florida Panthers aren’t garnering a whole lot of attention, which is just fine with them. Even despite some mediocre results of late, the under-the-radar Panthers head into the weekend with a five-point lead in the Southeast Division. To keep that cushion, the Panthers will have to do something they have struggled with in the past – winning in San Jose. The Sharks will be looking to make it five straight home wins in the series when Florida visits HP Pavilion in the teams’ first and only meeting this season on Saturday night. The Sharks have outscored the Panthers 18-3 in those four previous victories.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FOX Florida, CSN-CA
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (13-8-4): Florida is 1-2-1 in its last four, with a lack of scoring serving as the culprit. The Panthers have one goal in three of the four games. They haven’t been able to take advantage of the power play, either, going 4 of 45 in their last 10 games and 0 of 6 in a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. "We thoroughly outplayed them," coach Kevin Dineen said. "We walk out of here feeling very good about the way we played."
ABOUT THE SHARKS (14-7-1): A four-game homestand started on the right foot for the Sharks with a 4-3 shootout win over Montreal. Ryane Clowe tied the contest late in regulation for his first tally following a 10-game goal-less drought. Clowe was reunited on the second line with Logan Couture in the triumph and it paid dividends as the duo combined for two goals, two assists and 11 shots. The Sharks, owners of the NHL’s top power play, have come up empty in nine opportunities with the man advantage in their three previous games.
OVERTIME:
1. Panthers leading scorer Kris Versteeg did not play Thursday because of a broken nose suffered earlier in the week. He is expected to rejoin the lineup against the Sharks.
2. Florida netminder Jose Theodore has been solid in his past four outings, going 2-1-1 with a .942 save percentage.
3. Sharks defenseman Colin White has missed two contests for personal reasons but could rejoin the club for this one.