Florida Panthers to return to winning ways at home - NHL Preview
Florida Panthers have been losing and badly away from home but now thankfully for them they return back to the familiar surroundings of the BankAtlantic Center for the visit of Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, February 9th, 2012.
The Panthers faced a mauling in their last two games both on the road as they struggled to mount any significant resistance to their opponents.
Florida lost 6-3 on Saturday against Tampa Bay Lightning and followed it up by a 4-0 shutout from the Washington Capitals as their woeful away form showed no signs of abating.
"We got beat by the better hockey team tonight," Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. "We need to understand that, fess up, recognize that our game has to improve and move on."
Yet at home the Panthers are a completely different prospect as their 13-5-7 record suggests.
The Panthers are down to ninth in the Eastern Conference after the two defeats from third with a 24-17-11 record and 59 points two points behind the Ottawa Senators who are in eighth.
The Los Angeles Kings on the other hand have ended a two game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday to maintain their position at seventh in the Western Conference.
The Kings have a 26-18-10 record and while they are not scoring much with a weak offence their defence coupled with the brilliant form of goaltender Jonathan Quick has helped them win out many tough matches recently.
Quick made 24 saves against Tampa Bay on Tuesday in another brilliant performance and has been the main reason for the Kings climb to third overall in the National Hockey League (NHL) goals against rankings.
Left Winger Kyle Clifford knows the importance of Quick and the Kings brilliant defence and praised their contributions.
"Guys are really bearing down, and as a team we want to score more goals, our goaltenders and our defensive game have really kept us in most games, and we just want to try to improve on our offensive game. So we're just trying to bury as many chances as
we can."
The Panthers maybe on a two game losing streak but at home they are a different beast altogether and it will not be surprising to see them return back to winning ways against the Kings.
Bettor.com is giving odds of 1.94 for a Panthers win in regular time, while the Kings are 1.87 but it is likely that Panthers will turn out to be the winners.
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