Panthers Drop Season High Third Straight, Drop One To Anaheim, 2-0

First Period:

The Panthers took the ice in their alternate-home powder blue jerseys at 10 minutes past six in Sunrise. Stephen Weiss is playing in his Panther’s record tying 613th game for the Cats.

Mike Weaver continued an unfortunate trend for the Panthers, leaving them shorthanded just over a minute into the game when he was called for hooking Corey Perry. The Ducks managed two shots on Jose Theodore, but the Panthers killed it off by clearing the puck out four times over the two minutes.

Saku Koivu put the puck past Theodore with five minutes gone, but the netminder reached back with his stick and made a save that was better late than never.

Sean Bergenheim took the first shot of the game for Florida at the six minutes mark after the Panthers had allowed the first five shots of the game.

Luca Sbisa high sticked Stephen Weiss in the face at the seven minute mark. The resulting power play resulted in several good chances for the Cats, who collected four shots on goal and kept the puck in the Ducks zone for most of the first half of the two minutes.

Krys Barch and George Parros (and his all-world moustache) dropped the gloves at center ice for a lengthy bout. The two circled each other for over a minute tossing everything at each other. As the officials broke the two up, Parros gave Barch a wink as the two skated off to the penalty box for a five minute fighting penalty.

Teemu Selanne broke the scoreboard seal at the 12 minute mark with his 20th goal of the season. Saku Koivu and Bobby Ryan earned the assists. The marker moved Selanne into 11th on the all-time goals scored list, with his 657th goal overall.

Mikael Samuelsson was high sticked in the face by Lobomir Visnovsky, and was assessed a four minute double minor. The Ducks cleared out the puck four times in the first minute and a half, then allowed a shorthanded shot on goal. The Panthers could get nothing working, allowing a total of nine clears over the four minutes.

Second Period:

Toni Lydman was called for interfering with Jack Skille at the two minute mark to put Florida back on the man advantage. The Panthers again allowed Anaheim to get a few shorthanded opportunities and couldn’t set up a viable scoring opportunity.

Matt Bradley tried to body check Geroge Parros into the boards, but missed and klonked himself in the head. He was helped off the ice and did not return.

As for the rest of the Panthers, Shawn Matthias had a lot of jump in his step, as did Marcel Goc. It didn’t seem as if anybody had an answer for Jonas Hiller, however. Thankfully, Jose Theodore is keeping the Panthers close.

Third Period:

The Panthers were throwing everything at Anaheim to start the third period, Sean Bergenheim had a few good chances on goal, and led all skaters with six through the seven minute mark of the period.

The Ducks got a power play opportunity when Stephen Weiss tripped Ryan Getzlaf at the 11 minute mark. The Panthers had an odd man rush led by Tomas Kopecky, but the ref tripped him up. The Ducks didn’t get anything going.

The Cats pulled the goalie with just over a minute left in regulation, Niklas Hagman, ex-Panther, added an empty netter with 30 seconds remaining.

Hits: Tied, 24-24 (Keaton Ellerby led all skaters with five, while Toni Lydman had four for the Ducks.)

Blocked Shots: Ducks, 16-14 (Keaton Ellerby had an unreal six, including five in the third, while Luca Sbisa and Sheldon Brookbank had three each for Anaheim.)

Faceoffs: Panthers, 27-21 (Marcel Goc won 13 of 20, and Stephen Weiss won 8 of 15 for the Cats. Saku Koivu won nine of 16 for Anaheim.)

Shots on Goal: Panthers, 31-26 (Sean Bergenheim led all skaters with six, while Cory Perry paced the Ducks with four.)

Score: Ducks 2, Panthers 0

Defensive Struggle In Sunrise, Ducks Lead 1-0 After Two

Toni Lydman was called for interfering with Jack Skille at the two minute mark to put Florida back on the man advantage. The Panthers again allowed Anaheim to get a few shorthanded opportunities and couldn’t set up a viable scoring opportunity.

Matt Bradley tried to body check Geroge Parros into the boards, but missed and klonked himself in the head. He was helped off the ice and did not return.

As for the rest of the Panthers, Shawn Matthias had a lot of jump in his step, as did Marcel Goc. It didn’t seem as if anybody had an answer for Jonas Hiller, however. Thankfully, Jose Theodore is keeping the Panthers close.

Hits: Ducks, 18-17 (Jack Skille is leading all skaters with four, while Francois Beauchemin and Toni Lydman have three apiece for the Ducks.)

Blocked Shots: Ducks, 9-5 (Erik Gudbranson led the Panthers with two, while Luca Sbisa has three for Anaheim.)

Faceoffs: Panthers, 19-14 (Marcel Goc has won eight of 14, and Stephen Weiss won six of 11.)

Shots on Goal: Panthers, 20-19 (Sean Bergenheim and Tomas Fleischmann led all skaters with four.)

Score: Ducks 1, Panthers 0

Teemu Selanne Scores Number 657, Ducks Lead Panthers, 1-0 After One

The Panthers took the ice in their alternate-home powder blue jerseys at 10 minutes past six in Sunrise. Stephen Weiss is playing in his Panther’s record tying 613th game for the Cats.

Mike Weaver continued an unfortunate trend for the Panthers, leaving them shorthanded just over a minute into the game when he was called for hooking Corey Perry. The Ducks managed two shots on Jose Theodore, but the Panthers killed it off by clearing the puck out four times over the two minutes.

Saku Koivu put the puck past Theodore with five minutes gone, but the netminder reached back with his stick and made a save that was better late than never.

Sean Bergenheim took the first shot of the game for Florida at the six minutes mark after the Panthers had allowed the first five shots of the game.

Luca Sbisa high sticked Stephen Weiss in the face at the seven minute mark. The resulting power play resulted in several good chances for the Cats, who collected four shots on goal and kept the puck in the Ducks zone for most of the first half of the two minutes.

Krys Barch and George Parros (and his all-world moustache) dropped the gloves at center ice for a lengthy bout. The two circled each other for over a minute tossing everything at each other. As the officials broke the two up, Parros gave Barch a wink as the two skated off to the penalty box for a five minute fighting penalty.

Teemu Selanne broke the scoreboard seal at the 12 minute mark with his 20th goal of the season. Saku Koivu and Bobby Ryan earned the assists. The marker moved Selanne into 11th on the all-time goals scored list, with his 657th goal overall.

Mikael Samuelsson was high sticked in the face by Lobomir Visnovsky, and was assessed a four minute double minor. The Ducks cleared out the puck four times in the first minute and a half, then allowed a shorthanded shot on goal. The Panthers could get nothing working, allowing a total of nine clears over the four minutes.

Hits: Ducks, 10-8 (Three by Francois Beauchemin for the Ducks, two each by Jack Skille and Tyson Strachan for the Cats.)

Blocked Shots: Panthers, 4-2 (Erik Gudbranson led everyone with two.)

Faceoffs: Panthers, 10-9 (Marcel Goc and Stephen Weiss each split their faceoff chances.)

Shots on Goal: Tied, 10-10 (Goc and Tomas Fleischmann led all skaters with three.)

Score: Ducks 1, Panthers 0

Anaheim Ducks Visit Florida Panthers: Injury Report And Starting Lineups

Panthers:

Injuries:

Starting Lineup:

Forwards:

Tomas Fleischmann - Stephen Weiss - Kris Versteeg

Sean Bergenheim - Marcel Goc - Mikael Samuelsson

Tomas Kopecky - Shawn Matthias - Jack Skille

Matt Bradley - Mike Santorelli - Krys Barch

Defensemen:

Brian Campbell - Erik Gudbranson

Keaton Ellerby - Mike Weaver

Tyson Strachan - Nolan Yonkman

Goalie:

Jose Theodore is tonight's probable starter.

Ducks:

Injuries:

Starting Lineup:

Forwards:

Jason Blake - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry

Bobby Ryan - Saku Koivu - Teemu Selanne

Matt Beleskey - Nick Bonino - Andrew Cogliano

Niklas Hagman - Rod Pelley - George Parros

Defensemen:

Francois Beauchemin - Cam Fowler

Luca Sbisa - Lubomir Visnovsky

Toni Lydman - Sheldon Brookbank

Goalie:

Jonas Hiller is tonight's probable starter.

Anaheim Ducks Visit Florida Panthers: Facts And Figures

The Panthers haven't played the Ducks in over a year, and haven't hosted the team since February 1st of 2010. This will be Teemu Selanne's last trip into Sunrise as a player. The Panthers hope to avoid their first three game pointless streak of this season, and remain relevant as a legitimate threat to win the Southeast division and finally return to Lord Stanley's Playoff Tournament. The Ducks look to continue their late season surge and climb the standings enough to continue the season past April.

Common Thread:

Ducks winger Niklas Hagman played 263 games over four seasons with the Panthers. He scored 30 goals with 50 assists, a minus-27 rating and 52 penalty minutes.

Team Milestones:

Games: Stephen Weiss moves into a tie tonight with Radek Dvorak as the all-time leader in Panthers games played, with 613.

Goals: Shawn Matthias is tied in 45th with Mike Van Ryn, with 25 goals. Mike Santorelli is tied with Gary Roberts and Mike Hough in 42nd, with 27 goals, one more will move him into a tie for 41st with Brian McCabe.

Assists: With two more assists, Brian Campbell will move into the franchise top 50, with 39, Tying Jaroslav Spacek.

Team Leaders:

Games:

Mike Weaver, Brian Campbell, Tomas Fleischmann - 57

Goals:

Kris Versteeg - 22

Tomas Fleischmann - 19

Stephen Weiss, Jason Garrison - 13

Assists:

Brian Campbell - 37

Stephen Weiss - 28

Kris Versteeg - 26

Points:

Kris Versteeg - 48

Tomas Fleischmann - 44

Stephen Weiss - 41

Plus/Minus:

Stephen Weiss - plus-7

Jason Garrison - plus-6

Kris Versteeg - plus-5

Point Share:

Kris Versteeg, Jose Theodore - 6.3

Jason Garrison, Brian Campbell - 6.1

Anaheim Ducks Visit Florida Panthers: Game 58 Preview

Florida has lost two straight at home, but still lead the Washington Capitals by two points for the Southeast Division lead. The Anaheim Ducks visit tonight for their first matchup in over a year.