The Florida Panthers (19-12-2) return from the NHL’s four-day Christmas Break to face the Tampa Bay Lightning (17-13-5) for the first time this season tonight at Amalie Arena.
Florida snapped a run of four defeats in five games with a very satisfying 4-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season. Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart scored third period power-play goals to help the Panthers get back in the win column, and maintain possession of third place in the Atlantic Division.
After a bit of a slow start to the season, the Lightning, who are 7-3 in its last ten games, have been climbing the standings of late. They are now just one point behind the Cats, but have played two more games. Tampa Bay comes into the game off a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals in its last outing that extended their current winning streak to three games. The Panthers will need to keep a close eye on Nikita Kucherov, who leads the NHL in scoring with 57 points.
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amalie Bank Arena – Tampa, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports Sun
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #GoBolts, #FLAvsTBL, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Raw Charge
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3
- LAST MEETING: FLA 4, @TBL 1 – (Recap) 2/28/2023
- NEXT MEETING: February 17, 2024
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (15-9-1 .910 / 2.50 2SO) / Tampa Bay: Vasilevskiy (8-5-0 .908 / 2.76 1SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Tampa Bay
Wednesday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
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