LOS ANGELES KINGS: 3-2-0 (6 PTS.) vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS: 2-3-0 (4 PTS.)

GAME DAY SONG: The Killers:  Shot At The Night

The Florida Panthers hope to build on their 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins this afternoon when they take on the Los Angeles Kings at 3:00 P.M. in Sunrise.  That game started out positively for Florida, and for the most part continued that way throughout, with the Panthers controlling most of the play, and looking as though things have tightened up slightly.  After giving up 16 goals in their previous three losses, holding a powered offence like Pittsburgh to just three tallies, was very much a positive.

However, this is no time to rest on laurels, as the schedule gets significantly difficult beginning with today’s tilt against the Kings.  Florida will play LA, Nashville, Boston, Minnesota, and Chicago over the next five games.  None of those games will be easy, and all of them will feature teams that have varying styles of play.  If Florida can play with the intensity and aggressiveness that they did Friday night, and build some consistency in their game, then they can be competitive and have a chance to win.  The scoring was spread amongst five different players on Friday, and it was good to see players like Kris Versteeg and Tomas Fleischmann rekindle some of their magic from two seasons ago.  Also, Brad Boyes and Aleksander Barkov who both had three point nights was a pleasure to watch.  Boyes who leads the team in goals with four, is scoring at a 28% clip, as he’s taken 14 shots.  Barkov who is only 18 had what looked to be his best game so far in his young career.  For his age, he truly has good hockey sense, and can make some very smooth passes.

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