Hello from Jersey: Florida Panthers @ New Jersey Devils 1 p.m. ... Craig Anderson IN ... Cory Stillman OUT

NEWARK, N.J. -- Hello from the Mile High Press Box in Newark, where you definitely have a better view of the ice than I do.

And many of you are in South Florida.

I think I can see Hoboken from here.

Anyway, Craig Anderson makes his third straight start today, Tomas Vokoun is dressed but apparently not good enough to go.

Vokoun is lucky in one regard: The team is taking a train to Washington after the game so the pressure of an airplane won't mess with his inner ear infection. At least not until Monday's flight to the 'ATL' that is.

-- Cory Stillman is out a second straight game with an injured foot. I earlier reported that it was his ankle based off information I was given, but as Stillman said ''you were close.'' It's his foot. Says it's badly bruised and he can't get the foot into his skate boot without serious pain. He should have just left it on.

-- Nick Boynton is also out, likely watching on television from home.

-- Martin Brodeur in net for the Devils -- who, interestingly enough, have a priest walking around press level. I can't make stuff like this up.

-- The Lines: CPR; Frolik-Weiss-Booth; Zed-Horton-McLean; Stew-Kreps-Tarn. D Combos: Bo/Skrastins; Ballard/McCabe; Welch/Cullimore.

-- Last night's scores (and how they affected the Panthers): Montreal beats Philly, but it comes in overtime. So, another three point game. Habs now three points up on FLA in fifth, Philly six points up in fourth. Pittsburgh beats Chicago in a wild overtime affair, the Pens picking up two clutch points. Pens are one point out, but have played two more games than Florida.

-- Today's games (and who the Panthers would be cheering for if they weren't visiting the Washington Monument later tonight. And there are a lot of games, so the only games listed are ones that have anything to do with the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.)

Caps @ Bruins, 1: Washington is running away with the Southeast, but root for the Bs if you wanna.

Panthers @ Devils, 1: Florida players are big fans of Martin Brodeur, so they are rooting for the Devils obviously.

Sharks @ Canadiens, 7: Don't need any more wins by Montreal.

Leafs @ Senators, 7: Just threw this one in there.

Sabres @ Islanders, 7: Need a solid performance at the lighthouse by the fishermen.

Avs @ Rangers, 7: Colorado doesn't look too good right now, but neither do the Rangers.

Canes @ Thrash, 7: Hockey Night in the ATL. Always an exciting time.

The Standings (presented by Satriale's Pork Store in Kearny; courtesy of TSN.ca/NHL)

Eastern
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OT	PTS	GF	GA	Home	Away	Last 10	Streak
1	Boston	62	42	12	8	92	212	138	21-4-4	21-8-4	4-4-2	Won 2
2	Washington	62	39	18	5	83	207	179	25-6-1	14-12-4	6-3-1	Won 1
3	New Jersey	61	39	19	3	81	186	151	20-10-1	19-9-2	7-3-0	Won 1
4	Philadelphia	60	33	17	10	76	198	175	18-8-4	15-9-6	7-2-1	Lost 1
5	Montreal	62	33	22	7	73	191	187	19-6-4	14-16-3	4-5-1	Won 3
6	Florida	61	31	22	8	70	169	166	17-8-5	14-14-3	6-4-0	Won 1
7	NY Rangers	63	31	24	8	70	153	174	18-10-4	13-14-4	2-5-3	Lost 4
8	Buffalo	62	31	24	7	69	182	173	17-12-2	14-12-5	4-4-2	Lost 2
9	Carolina	63	32	26	5	69	166	181	17-13-1	15-13-4	6-4-0	Won 1
10	Pittsburgh	63	31	26	6	68	191	195	17-12-2	14-14-4	6-3-1	Won 2
11	Toronto	62	24	26	12	60	187	224	11-11-8	13-15-4	5-2-3	Won 3
12	Ottawa	60	23	28	9	55	149	172	13-11-5	10-17-4	6-3-1	Lost 1
13	Tampa Bay	62	20	30	12	52	156	198	11-12-8	9-18-4	3-6-1	Lost 2
14	Atlanta	62	22	34	6	50	183	218	10-17-2	12-17-4	4-5-1	Lost 1
15	NY Islanders	61	18	36	7	43	148	204	12-13-5	6-23-2	2-6-2	Lost 2
Western
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OT	PTS	GF	GA	Home	Away	Last 10	Streak
1	San Jose	60	42	9	9	93	203	145	26-2-3	16-7-6	6-2-2	Won 1
2	Detroit	62	41	13	8	90	234	179	24-4-3	17-9-5	7-2-1	Won 2
3	Calgary	61	37	18	6	80	195	175	22-7-4	15-11-2	7-1-2	Won 4
4	Chicago	60	34	17	9	77	201	153	15-5-6	19-12-3	5-4-1	Lost 3
5	Vancouver	61	31	22	8	70	183	174	15-11-4	16-11-4	8-2-0	Won 1
6	Columbus	62	31	25	6	68	167	173	19-10-2	12-15-4	7-2-1	Won 1
7	Minnesota	60	30	25	5	65	153	141	18-11-5	12-14-0	4-4-2	Lost 2
8	Dallas	60	29	24	7	65	175	183	17-10-4	12-14-3	5-5-0	Lost 3
9	Edmonton	61	30	26	5	65	170	186	14-12-4	16-14-1	4-4-2	Lost 1
10	Anaheim	63	30	28	5	65	176	185	15-13-3	15-15-2	4-6-0	Lost 1
11	Nashville	62	30	28	4	64	151	172	18-11-2	12-17-2	5-4-1	Won 3
12	St. Louis	61	27	26	8	62	170	180	16-11-5	11-15-3	6-2-2	Won 2
13	Los Angeles	61	26	26	9	61	158	175	13-13-8	13-13-1	3-5-2	Lost 2
14	Phoenix	62	27	30	5	59	158	190	17-12-2	10-18-3	3-7-0	Lost 2
15	Colorado	62	28	33	1	57	168	194	17-14-0	11-19-1	3-7-0	Lost 3

 

Ducks @ Star

Comments

[pantherfan]

Panthers are getting embarrased out there! I wonder if that Boynton being sent home had an effect on them? Will JM now pull the trigger on the Bou trade? Panthers need some offense and a captain.

[brandon]

Hey George...you need to say something to the FSN crew. They cut the game off and Panthers Live off for Basketball!!!! What is that? So we had a extremely bad game, but there are actually Panther fans who still want to watch. First they cut our games, now shutting them off early. Soon the only to keep track of the team will be by radio.

[Brian From CT]

We will be in 9th by the end of the day.

What a joke this team is, this organization and the media that surrounds this team (or lack there of).

Pathetic!

[Andy]

I would not go that far Brian. The week has not been good at all and they were lucky to get 2 points in NY. I just hope this team has not hit the wall yet. I hope for a turnaround tomorrow. If they dont get points in Washington then Atlanta will be a must win. Remember, we have the trade deadline coming so if we can pick up a piece or two that would be nice. I always have said that the last month of the season is huge becuase teams play tighter. This team needs a goal scorer bad.

[zenator]

GR:

There is a huge amount of rumor chatter on the internet about a possible Panthers-Flyers trade fueled in part by Martin's presence at the two most recent Flyers games. Heard anything?

[pantherfan]

I just googled the rumors. There is talk that Panthers want: Lupal. But Phili wants to be ride of Briere and the contract.

Should be interesting if Panthers bomb tomorrow tonight what JM is willing to deal for.

[Bo]

Panthers need a scorer but trading Bou in the Eastern Conference would be a mistake. Flyers need to clear cap room so Martin may be looking at Lupal or Knuble for a pick or prospect.