Game Night!

The Panthers head west, and north, to take on the Edmonton Oilers tonight. The Cats have had their problems in Edmonton, and haven't won there since January 5, 1996 (oh, what a magical year that was!) As mentioned below, Craig Anderson will be in net for Florida. Read on to get my real feelings...

I'll keep try to keep it short today. The injured list is still probably a few days away from clearing up a little. Booth and Zednik are probably closest to returning, possibly Sunday in Vancouver. Edmonton has started to play well lately, but hasn't played since knocking off the NHL's best, San Jose Sharks. The Oils were actually out shot in that game 43-17, but Dwayne Roloson kept the Sharks out of the net and got the win. It's been awhile since they played, though, so it will be key for the Panthers to start strong and aggressive and get them on their heels.

Both teams sit in 10th in their respective conferences and are looking for 2 big points to get them closer to that coveted 8th spot. The offensive spark for Edmonton is Ales Hemsky, who leads the team in goals (9) and points (28). But this is a team that gets scoring from up and down the roster, similar to the Panthers. No Oiler has more then 9 goals, but 8 players have 5 goals or more. Should be a good one, too bad local Panther-ites won't be able to see it. Cozy up to those radios. For those of us outside of the Panthers territory, thank God for NHL Center Ice. Puck drops at 9.