Time: 19 Dec 2009 at 7:00 PM ET
League: NHL – United States of America

Last 10 matches: Florida 5-2-3; Carolina 3-6-1
Scoring first is often a recipe for success in the NHL, but it hasn’t meant much to either of these teams. The Hurricanes have won just 29.4 percent of the games in which they’ve scored first, dead last in the League, while the Panthers are just two slots higher at 46.7 percent. The only other team that has won less than half of its games when scoring first is Anaheim (41.2 percent). Florida owns a four-point lead for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot after winning Friday. While that might not seem like much, at least it gets the Panthers out of the logjam directly below them. Four teams are tied for ninth, the 13th-place Flyers are just five points out, and the 14th-place Maple Leafs are only six points back. The Hurricanes are the only team in the East that would need a miraculous second half to reach the postseason, as they are currently 15 points behind the Panthers.
Fourth of six meetings this season and the second in as many nights, as the teams complete a home-and-home. Florida got goals from six different players in a 6-3 victory at the BankAtlantic Center on Friday, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead in the series. They also won 3-0 at home on Nov. 4, while the Hurricanes scored a 7-2 triumph in Carolina on Oct. 9.
The bumps and bruises are starting to mount for Florida, which played Friday without Kamil Kreps (upper body), Bryan Allen (knee) and Nick Tarnasky (broken orbital bone). Already on injured reserve are David Booth (concussion), Cory Stillman (knee), Kenndal McArdle (shoulder/arm) and Gregory Campbell (concussion-like symptoms).

Carolina defensemen Niclas Wallin (upper body) and Tim Gleason (concussion-like symptoms/facial laceration) didn’t play Friday. Forwards Chad LaRose (lower body) and Erik Cole (upper body) are out several weeks. Defenseman Joe Corvo had leg surgery and will miss 2-3 months. Casey Borer (broken neck) and Michael Ryan (concussion) have not played yet this season.

“As banged up as we are, Carolina is even more banged up, so I think we’re catching a wounded animal but to our credit we found a way to get the two points, which is the critical part,” Florida coach Pete DeBoer said after Friday’s game. Results and goal’s highlights, will be available soon.. stay with us.