NEW ORLEANS -- This is what it has come to for the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers.Either they beat the Saints in the Superdome on Sunday, or they fall into last place in the NFC South by themselves with 10 games to go.You dont expect to start this way, Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly said. Its a situation we are in now and its all about how youre going to respond from it.On its face, the matchup of the Saints (1-3) and Panthers (1-4) has the look of a game between two struggling teams who very well might be going nowhere this season.On the other hand, it could make for a desperate, high-stakes affair, given both teams are trying to salvage their season and believe it is still early enough to do so.Were not looking at them as a 1-4 team. Were looking at them as the returning NFC champions. We know that and just like when I was on a Super Bowl team, the next year, you get the best of every team, said Saints fullback John Kuhn, who played in the Super Bowl with Green Bay.This is two really good football teams going at each other. Throw the records out. Anybody watching this game is not going to be unsatisfied.Weve only played a quarter of the season, Kuhn added. Youve seen it in years past, especially with this division -- anything can happen. Weve got a lot of football left in front of us. So do they. It starts this week. We both understand whats going on.And its not as if either team has been on the wrong end of many lopsided scores. Both teams have each lost games by three points and one point. Those games came down to the final possession and a play here or there could have tipped the balance.The Panthers also played without star quarterback Cam Newton last Monday night against Tampa Bay and only lost on a last-second field goal.Newton, who had been held out because of a concussion, is expected to play this week as the Panthers try to keep pace with the ever-prolific offense designed by Saints coach Sean Payton and executed by QB Drew Brees.We know the team were playing is a championship-level team that has lost some tough, close games, Payton said. Were going to have to be at our best.Here are some other story lines to watch as the Panthers invade the Superdome:NEWTONS NUMBERS: The Saints might be just what a struggling Newton needs. Newton, whose quarterback rating of 80.2 ranks 32nd in the league, often has played well against New Orleans, whose defense has been rated among the NFLs worst in three of the past four seasons and is again ranked 31st so far this season. Newton threw for 331 yards and five touchdowns last season at the Superdome and has 10 touchdowns and one interception in the past three games against New Orleans.HOPEFUL HISTORY: The Saints can look at their own franchise history for examples of why they still might emerge as playoff contenders -- if they can win this week. Under the current NFL playoff system, the Saints have twice made the playoffs after starting a season 1/3 -- once in 1990 and once in 2000.Were trying to be an ascending team -- a team that is trying to get better each and every week, Brees said. I feel like we have gotten better. We have learned and grown.WHERES THE RUSH?: Panthers starting defensive ends Kony Ealy and Charles Johnson have yet to register a sack this season through five games. Ealy said a major reason for that is opposing quarterbacks are getting the ball out quicker, giving the teams front four less time to get to the quarterback.Obviously quarterbacks are doing it for a reason, offensive coordinators are game-planning that way for a reason, Ealy said. They know what our front can do. It would be crazy for them to just be lax back there and know we are going to pressure with four or sometimes five guys. We see it as a sign of respect.GETTING DEFENSIVE: Although the Saints rank second-to-last in the NFL defensively, there have been signs of hope for the struggling unit. New Orleans ranks 13th in the NFL in red zone defense and tied for seventh in the league in limiting TDs on opposing offenses goal-to-go scenarios. Also, New Orleans much-maligned defense came up with a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception in the fourth quarter of their comeback win in their game at San Diego on Oct. 2. Now theyre rested after a bye last week.STEWARTS RETURN: The Panthers are hoping to get Jonathan Stewart back on the field after the teams starting running back missed the past three games with a hamstring injury. When healthy, Stewart is difficult to bring down and can be among the best running backs in the league. If Stewart cant go, the Panthers will turn to Cameron Artis-Payne, who ran for two TDs in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Under Armour Nz Online .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Under Armour Nz Discount . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. http://www.clearanceunderarmournz.com/ ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Buy Under Armour Shoes Nz . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Under Armour Clearance Sale Nz . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. The Los Angeles Kings are limping to the end of their five-game road trip, but theyre not alone in injury woes.The Colorado Avalanche are nursing some key injuries as well.The Kings (7-8-1) are expected to be without Anze Kopitar due to an upper-body injury while the Avalanches leading scorer, Matt Duchene, is still out with concussion-like symptoms. That means two of the most important players for both teams wont be on the ice when they meet at Pepsi Center on Tuesday night.Kopitar is not officially ruled out for the game but according to the team website, he is taking anti-inflammatories and is in a holding pattern, and until the area improves he wont be able to do much.Thats a tough break for a team that is already without its No. 1 goaltender, Jonathan Quick, for a significant stretch. Backup Jeff Zatkoff left Fridays game with groin spasms so veteran and former Avalanche top goalie Peter Budaj, who started the season in the American Hockey League, will probably start against Colorado.Budaj has been in net for all seven of the Kings victories, and hes looking forward to playing against Colorado.Its great to come back, he told the teams website. I think Montreal is definitely a special place. Id been there three years but Colorado is more like my home -- I mean obviously Im Slovakian so thats my home -- but I lived here, I started my professional NHL career here, so its a very special place.Budaj will face a team struggling in coach Jared Bednars first season at the helm. The Avalanche (6-8-0) are coming off a 2-0 home loss to Boston on Sunday in which they were outshot 44-21. It was the fourth time this season Colorado has been shut out, and the second time at home.The Avalanche have just 17 goals in their last 12 games and are 3-for-25 on the power play in the last five games.Not having Duchene for the second straight game will hurt.dddddddddddd He was scheduled to skate Monday but didnt feel well enough to get on the ice. The hope is he can be out for the morning skate Tuesday.He didnt feel he was ready to skate (Monday) morning with the group, so (the training staff) gave him the morning (off) to see what comes of it (Tuesday), Bednar told HockeyBuzz.com Monday.Colorado is going to have lineup changes for the game against Los Angeles. Forward Blake Comeau is back after missing four games with a groin injury and A.J. Greer, who made his NHL debut Sunday as an emergency call-up, will be back in San Antonio of the AHL.In addition, defenseman Patrick Wiercioch is expected to replace Eric Gelinas in the lineup, but Colorado still has to fix its offensive woes.Were not getting enough shots through to the net is one issue from our blue line, Bednar told HockeyBuzz.com. We can do a better job of finding some lanes and getting some playable pucks down to the net. A lot of it is some fancy plays, east-west plays, when we can be driving the net more. Its what teams are doing against us and having success.After Sundays shootout loss in Winnipeg, the Kings are 1-2-1 on their road trip and could finish .500 with a win Tuesday.The Avalanche are trying to even their record on this four-game homestand before heading out for three games. Getting the offense going might be as simple as scoring a few goals to get the confidence back.Sometimes when you go through scoring slumps you start to maybe press a little more, Comeau told HockeyBuzz.com. I think its going to take one game where everythings clicking, where we get some greasy goals, get the confidence back and go from there. ' ' '