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Jets @ Panthers 12/5/13


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JETS (13-12-4) at PANTHERS (7-16-5)


TV: TSN-JETS, FS-F


Last 10: Winnipeg 5-3-2; Florida 4-5-1


Season series: This is the first of two games this season between the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers. They haven't played since April 3, 2012, when Andrew Ladd's second goal of the game at 3:12 of overtime gave Winnipeg a 5-4 win in Florida.


Big story: It stands to reason with the Panthers beginning a stretch of three games in four nights that veteran goaltender Tim Thomas has a breather coming. Thomas battled injuries early in the season after returning from a one-year sabbatical, but he's started 12 consecutive games and given Florida the play in net it needs to compete on a nightly basis under interim coach Peter Horachek.


"He's been really good," Horachek said earlier this week. "We're continuing to monitor to see where he is. Obviously he's not going to play every game, but right now every game for us becomes that much more important and we have days off in between. When we get to a back-to-back, that may become another issue."


Team Scope:


Jets: An injury to wing Evander Kane opened up a spot for center John Albert to make his NHL debut for Winnipeg against the New York Rangers on Monday. Albert has never been a huge scorer -- he had three goals in 23 games for the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps this season -- but he got his first with the Jets 10 minutes into the second period to give them the lead. Olli Jokinen scored twice in a three-goal third to spark a 5-2 win, the Jets' third in four games.


"He had a tough start," Jokinen told the Winnipeg Free Press. "He had a minus on the first shift but he's a kid who works hard and he didn't look out of place at all."


Panthers: This is the finale of a five-game homestand for Florida, which is looking to snap a three-game losing streak. The power play got the Panthers off to a positive start Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, as Jonathan Huberdeauconnected on a 5-on-3 and Brian Campbell scored on the back end 1:38 later for a 2-0 first-period lead, but the Senators handed them a 4-2 defeat despite Thomas making 41 saves.


"Very frustrated. I feel like we're close but we still make those major mistakes that cost us all the time," Campbell told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "They don't seem to be leaving our game."


Who's hot: Devin Setoguchi has three goals and one assist in his past four games for the Jets. … Scottie Upshall has two goals and two assists during a four-game point streak for the Panthers.


Injury report: Kane (lower body) is day-to-day for Winnipeg. Defensemen Paul Postma (blood clot) and Zach Bogosian(groin) and forward Jim Slater (sports hernia) are on injured reserve. … Florida defensemen Ed Jovanovski (hip) andMatt Gilroy (lower body) and forwards Steven Pinizzotto (hip) and Tomas Kopecky (upper body) are on injured reserve.


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All I gotta say on the Jets: "Show up to play!"

 

Seems teams that take the Panthers lightly are the ones who get struck down....

Panthers may not be very good overall, but they DO work hard, and that in itself will get them some wins if another team shows up and half-asses it through the game.

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I think if the play like they played in the 3rd period in their last game they should have no problem with the Panthers tomorrow night.

 

True, however, they better be prepared to play like the 3rd period last game the ENTIRE game...the fact that they needed to wait for the 3rd to crank things up is a bit concerning if I am a Jets fan.

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Which really makes all the difference in this league.

 

That's what I love about the NHL..the talent level gap from team #1 all the way to team #30 really isn't as large as it is in some other pro leagues...but the elite teams play 100% just about every night.

 

If those Panthers develop their young players, make smart FA signings, AND keep their good work ethic, then they could contend for a SC sooner than later....parity is THAT good in the NHL.

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