The Florida Panthers (45-18-4) will look to sweep the season series against its cross-state rival when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning (35-25-6) this evening at Amerant Arena. The only time that Florida swept a season series against Tampa Bay was in 1998-99, when they won all five meetings. Despite a disappointing 4-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Thursday, that saw the Cats limited to a season-low 21 shots on goal, the Panthers still sit atop the NHL standings with 94 points.
The Lightning come into the game on a two-game winning streak that has helped them solidify their hold on a wild card spot. After opening a three-game homestand with an ugly 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames, the Lightning destroyed the Philadelphia Flyers by a 7-0 count and then doubled up the New York Rangers 6-3 on Thursday. Brayden Point (3G/3A) had a hand in all six goals to tie the franchise record for most points in a single game. Nikita Kucherov contributed a goal and four assists in the win over the Rangers and is second in the league in scoring with 112 points.
- WHEN: 6:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: ESPN+, HULU
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #GoBolts, #TBLvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Raw Charge
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 3 (1-0)
- LAST MEETING: FLA 9, @TBL 2 – (Recap) 2/17/2023
- NEXT MEETING: Playoffs or 2024-25 regular season
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (32-13-2 .918 / 2.32 4SO) Tampa Bay: Vasilevskiy (23-16-1 .896 / 2.86 2SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Tampa Bay
Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- BUFFALO (32-30-5 69P) at DETROIT (33-27-6 72P) 12:30 p.m. (NHL Network)
- OTTAWA (27-33-4 58P) at New York Islanders (29-22-14 72P) 12:30 p.m.
- Philadelphia (34-25-8 76P) at BOSTON (39-14-15 93P) 7 p.m.
- MONTREAL (25-30-11 61P) at Calgary (32-29-5 69P) 7 p.m.
- Carolina (40-20-6 86P) at TORONTO (38-19-8 84P) 7 p.m.