GameDay Caterwaul & Thread: Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning

Panthers (20-6-4 44P) at Lightning (22-6-2 46P)

• WHEN: 4:00 p.m. ET
• WHERE: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
• ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, SUN Sports, ESPN+
• ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 640 WMEN (PB), 1370 WAXE (TC), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
• SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #GoBolts, #TBLvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
• ENEMY INTEL: Raw Charge
• FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 4 of 8 (2-1-0)
• LAST MEETING: @FLA 6, TBL 4 - (Recap) - 2/15/2021
• NEXT MEETING: April 15, 2021
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Bobrovsky (12-3-2 .906/ 2.90 0SO) vs McElhinney (2-3-1 .874/ 3.19 0SO)
• PLAYER STATS: Florida / Tampa Bay

Scouting Report

The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning are starting to build up quite the in-state rivalry, as tensions heighten between the two teams given their tight race for top spot in the Central Division. This will be the fourth game of the season between the clubs with Florida taking two of the first three games so far. Each of these teams are playing exceptional hockey right now with the Lightning winning 12 of their last 15, and the Panthers winning seven of their last 10. The two teams have had very comparable seasons thus far, however the Lightning deserve to be the favorites in this one for a few reasons.

For one, the Lightning have been spectacular at Amalie Arena, having only lost two games there all year. Secondly, the Lightning are allowing just 2.34 goals against per game which is roughly 20% less goals than the 2.79 the Panthers are giving up. Victor Hedman is playing over 25 minutes per game of shutdown hockey but also contributing offensively as well. Hedman has 29 points in 29 games which is tops in the league for a defenseman. Lastly, the Lightning have dominated the Panthers over the years, winning 10 of the last 13 matchups and 16 of the last 21 in Tampa Bay

Full preview at Pickswise

Sunday in the Central (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances):

• NASHVILLE (13-17-1 27P) at DALLAS (10-10-7 27P) 8:30 p.m. ESPN+

Idle: CAR (43P), CLS (33P), CHI (33P), DET (24P)

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