Arena: BankAtlantic Center
Time: Mon, January 18, 2010 at 7:30 PM ET
League: NHL – United States of America

Last 10 matches: Atlanta 3-4-3; Florida 4-5-1
The -on-3 situation that led to the Hurricanes tying Saturday’s game exposed a less-than-desirable trend. Atlanta has been down two men on 11 different occasions for a combined 12:25 in ice time. Opponents have scored four times.The Southeast Division rivals have had three matchups so far, the first two taken by the Thrashers, and in all three cases the Panthers had third-period leads. On Dec. 16, the Panthers opened up a 3-0 lead but the Thrashers came back with three unanswered goals to draw even. Michael Frolik saved the day with 1:21 left in regulation and the Panthers won 4-3.
Panthers forward Stephen Weiss left Saturday’s game with a nagging lower-body injury, but coach Pete DeBoer expects him to be ready to play. … On the Atlanta side, Mark Popovic (foot) and Kari Lehtonen (back) participated in an optional practice on Sunday. Coach John Anderson stated the reason Todd White (leg) has been scratched lately had more to do with the play of the current lineup than his injury.
There’s been a logjam in the Eastern Conference and the Southeast Division all season and these two teams are right in the thick of it despite various setbacks. One point separates the Thrashers and Panthers in 11th and 12th place, respectively, but even the Panthers are a mere six points behind fifth-seeded Boston and only two down on the Islanders and Canadiens, tied for eighth. Each is looking to make up ground at the expense of the other. We will post information about results of this match..