*stats based on playoffs.
*** means player is questionable for the game
Match-up - Devils (48 wins, 102 points) @ Panthers (38 wins, 94 points)
Road/Home records - 24-15-2 -------------- 21-9-11
TV - TSN (HD), NBCSN (HD - joining in progress), NHL Network (US), RDSI, MSG-Plus (HD)
Puck drop - 8:30 PM ET
Series score - Tied at 3
Projected starting goalies - Martin Brodeur (NJ) vs. Jose Theodore (FLA)
Battle of the stats
Goals for/against per game *
Florida - 2.50 / 2.50
New Jersey - 2.50 / 2.50
Powerplay/Penalty Kill percentage *
Florida - 30.4% / 77.3%
New Jersey - 22.7% / 69.6%
Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Panthers:
Panthers lines courtesy of DailyFaceoff.com.
Tomas Fleischmann - Stephen Weiss - Kris Versteeg
Sean Bergenheim - Marcel Goc - Mikael Samuelsson
Jerred Smithson - Shawn Matthias - Scottie Upshall
Marco Sturm - John Madden - Tomas Kopecky
Jason Garrison *** - Brian Campbell
Dmitry Kulikov - Mike Weaver
Ed Jovanovski - Erik Gudbranson
Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Devils:
Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Adam Henrique - David Clarkson
Ryan Carter - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier
Bryce Salvador- Marek Zidlicky
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Anton Volchenkov - Peter Harrold
Notes: Martin Brodeur will start...Cam Janssen, Eric Boulton and Adam Larsson are expected to sit as healthy scratches.
Panthers to watch out for:
Kris Versteeg - He haunted the Devils all season and series with his offensive production, but at this point none of it matters. Can he produce tonight when it counts?
Sean Bergenheim - He's been a thorn in the Devils side all series long. They'll definitely have to watch him tonight.
Jose Theodore - It sounds like he will be back between the pipes tonight, but what Theodore will we see? The one who has struggled in the playoffs over the past few years or the one that shutout the Devils earlier in the series?
Devils to watch out for:
Zach Parise - It's Game 7, and it's time for the stars to shine. New Jersey could really use a big performance from their Captain.
Travis Zajac - He's been the best Devil all series long. Will his outstanding series continue tonight?
Marek Zidlicky - He's done a pretty good job of limiting the Panthers top line's production over the past few games. He'll need to limit them again.
Keys to the game
Florida - Quality goaltending
The Panthers are at home, and since they lost in Game 6 the pressure in some ways is on them. A big performance from Theodore would really benefit them.
New Jersey - Don't lose focus
The Devils played extremely well last game and though things didn't go well at times, they stuck to their guns and eventually came out on top. If things don't start well tonight they need to keep focus as the game isn't over until the final buzzer goes.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow me on twitter @ToddCordell.
TheHockeyGuys.net
Email: [email protected]
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»