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Monday, 22 November 2010 10:00

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Panthers.

When and where: 7:30 p.m. BankAtlantic Center.

TV: FSN Pittsburgh, FSN Florida.

Record: 9-9-0, 18 points. The Panthers are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and last place in the Southeast Division.

Leading Scorer: Michael Frolik, 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists).

Last Game: 4-1 road win against the Islanders, Saturday. Mike Santorelli had two goals for the Panthers.

Last Game against the Penguins: 6-2 home win, Jan. 3. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves for the Penguins.

Panthers Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Corey Stillman (above). The Penguin-killer has 38 points in 30 career games against the Penguins.

Ex-Penguins on the Panthers: Dale Tallon, general manager; Bill Thomas, C.

Ex-Panthers on the Penguins: Tom Fitzgerald, assistant to the general manager; Randy Sexton, assistant director of amateur scouting.

Useless Panthers Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Current Penguins executive Tom Fitzgerald holds the Panthers' single-season franchise record for short-handed goals. He had six in 1995-96.

Best Panthers Video We Could Find: Mario Lemieux making Panthers forward Brian Skrudland flinch with a fake punch during the 1996 Eastern Conference final:

Probable goaltenders: Brent Johnson (6-2-1, 2.11 GAA, .927 SV%) for the Penguins and Tomas Vokoun (8-6-0, 2.33 GAA, .926 SV%) for the Panthers.

Injuries: For the Penguins, forwards Sidney Crosby (undisclosed), Evgeni Malkin (undisclosed) and Chris Kunitz (undisclosed) are probable. Forward Jordan Staal (foot) and defenseman Alex Grant (wrist) are on injured reserve. For the Panthers, forwards Rostislav Olesz (finger), Steven Reinprect (groin) and Stephen Weiss (ankle) are questionable. Forwards Steve Bernier (orbital bone) and are out. Forward Byron Bitz (sports hernia) is on injured reserve.

Potential lines and defensive pairings:

-The Penguins did not practice with a full squad yesterday. Their primary lines and defensive pairings in Friday's game against the Hurricanes were:

Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Evgeni Malkin - Arron Asham
Chris Conner - Mark Letestu - Tyler Kennedy
Mike Rupp - Maxime Talbot - Craig Adams

Kris Letang - Brooks Orpik
Alex Goligoski - Deryk Engelland
Zbynek Michalek - Paul Martin

-The Panthers' primary lines and defensive pairings in Saturday's game against the Islanders were:

Cory Stillman - Stephen Weiss - Michael Frolik
David Booth - Mike Santorelli - Michal Repik
Christopher Higgins - Marty Reasoner - Radek Dvorak
Darcy Hordichuk - Shawn Matthias - Bill Thomas

Bryan McCabe - Dmitry Kulikov
Bryan Allen - Dennis Wideman
Jason Garrison - Mike Weaver

Notes:

-Malkin skipped yesterday's practice. Crosby and Kunitz left early.

-The Penguins will be embarking on their "dads trip."

-Crosby has 197 career goals.

-Dupuis has 249 career points.

-Letang has 97 career points.

-Talbot has 48 career goals.

-Forward Mike Comrie has 197 career assists.

-Thomas, Fox Chapel native, is expected to be in the lineup to face his hometown/former team.

-The Panthers are off to their best start since 1999-2000, the last season they made the playoffs.

-Reasoner has 148 career assists.

-Our live blog begin at approximately 7:30 p.m. Please tune in.

(Photo: Dale MacMillan/Getty Images)

Comments (1)

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written by CindyCrybaby, November 22, 2010 - 05:02 PM

I found a much better video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TiQTG9Qef0

Enjoy

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