The Florida Panthers drew first blood in the latest postseason edition of the Battle of Florida with a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday. Carter Verhaeghe scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk also lit the lamp as the Panthers ended a five-game postseason losing streak against the Bolts. Aleksander Barkov had strong game, setting up a pair of goals and finishing with two shots and four hits while playing some really stout defensive hockey. Both Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy were hard to beat, delivering timely saves. The Lightning got its goals from Brandon Hagel and Steven Stamkos, who also added an assist, joining Barkov and Tkachuk as the three players in Game 1 to record multiple points.
- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports SUN, ESPN2
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 92.1 Real Radio (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #GoBolts, #TBLvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Raw Charge
- SERIES: Panthers lead 1-0
- LAST MEETING: @FLA 3, TBL 2 – (Recap) 4/21/2023
- NEXT MEETING: Game 3 – April 25, 2024
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (1-0 .895 / 2.00 0SO) Tampa Bay: Andrei Vasilevskiy (0-1 .926 / 2.08 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Tampa Bay
Tuesday in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
- Washington Capitals at New York Rangers 7 p.m. (ESPN) Rangers lead 1-0
- Colorado Avalanche at Winnipeg Jets 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) Jets lead 1-0
- Nashville Predators at Vancouver Canucks 10 p.m. (ESPN) Canucks lead 1-0
Monday’s results
- Hurricanes 5, Islanders 3 (Carolina leads series 2-0)
- Maple Leafs 3, Bruins 2 (Series tied 1-1)
- Golden Knights 4, Stars (Vegas leads series 1-0)
- Oilers 7, Kings 4 (Edmonton leads series 1-0)