Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Cats Look To Continue Canadian Dominance Against Leafs

February 28, 2012, 3:37 PM ET [22 Comments]
Dan Spiegel
Florida Panthers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Kris Versteeg will be out at least a week to recover from an unknown injury that has been bothering him over the last few games, but that should not hurt the Panthers chances on beating the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight.

Newcomer Wojtek Wolski will relish the chance to take Versteeg's spot as the Panthers look to go 3-0 against the Leafs. The Cats have lost just three times in regulation to the Leafs in the last 12 visits to Toronto, and are 10-2-2 against teams north of the border this season.

Toronto is in the midst of a 1-7-1 slump, including four consecutive losses, that has the natives restless, especially since the Leafs were so quiet at yesterday's trade deadline. Carter Ashton and Mark Fraser are hardly the splashes needed to get their fan base amped up. They find themselves three points out of eighth in the East.

Thanks to the Oilers beating the Jets last night, the Panthers remain in first place in the Southeast Division by two points with four games in hand. The Panthers are used to coming from behind in the standings, so it will be interesting to see how they handle being frontrunners.

Coming from behind is exactly what they did over the last two road games at Carolina and home against Montreal. The Cats stole two points out of Raleigh with two goals in the final six minutes, eventually winning in a shootout. They then scored four unanswered goals to trounce Montreal in a 4-2 victory Sunday that had the team believing in itself.

Jose Theodore, who has given up two or fewer goals in his last six starts, will likely face off against James Reimer.

Stephen Weiss loves playing in Toronto and looks to build off his slump-busting 2 goal, 1 assist performance against Montreal.

The Panthers need not look ahead to the huge matchup against the Jets Thursday night and take care of their business tonight. The Leafs are flat beatable, and a Florida win tonight would take some of the pressure off the Jets game in which the Cats would enter the building with a 4-point lead.

Twitter @DanSpiegel
Join the Discussion: » 22 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Dan Spiegel
» Goodbye To Hockeybuzz
» Aleksander Barkov Finally Gets His Due
» Marchessault Stings
» Are The Panthers A Tease?
» The Legacy Jagr Left Behind...