SUNRISE, Fla. – This installment of the Battle of Florida should have some extra bite.
After all, the last time the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning faced off against each other, the Panthers ran over their cross-state rival in a 9-2 beatdown at Amalie Arena on Feb. 17.
With that, the Panthers certainly expect some extra jump from their opponent tonight.
“Games against these guys are always loud and aggressive,” Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour said. “You’re going to get both team’s best. It’s going to be good.”
Leading the NHL with 94 points, the Panthers (45-18-4) have won eight of their last 10 games, but are looking to get back in the win column after a 4-0 loss at Carolina on Thursday.
Undermanned against the Hurricanes, the Panthers took the ice without top-pair defenseman Aaron Ekblad, third-line winger Evan Rodrigues and grizzled second-line center Sam Bennett.
Ekblad is currently week-to-week, while Rodrigues and Bennett will return tonight.
“They bring a different look of speed to our lineup,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of Bennett and Rodrigues. “They both skate very well. It’s two of your top-nine guys. We’re slower in our game without them.”
Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals (46) and points (77). Right behind him on the team’s scoring leaderboard, Matthew Tkachuk has produced 74 points (21 goals, 53 assists. Tied for third in scoring, Carter Verhaeghe and Aleksander Barkov have each registered 66 points.
Making his third straight start, Sergei Bobrovsky, who ranks third in the NHL with 32 wins, will get the nod in net against Tampa Bay. Over his last 14 appearances, the 35-year-old veteran has posted a 11-3-0 record with a .939 save percentage and two shutouts.
With Anthony Stolarz (illness) unavailable, Evan Cormier is coming up from the ECHL to serve as Bobrovsky’s backup.
Holding the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Lightning (35-25-6) has won each of its last two games while firing on all cylinders on the offensive side of the puck. After shutting out the Flyers 7-0 on Saturday, they topped the Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers on Thursday by a score of 6-3.
Against New York, Brayden Point matched a club record with six points (three goals, three assists).
“It's very cool,” Point, who ranks second on the Lightning with 36 goals this season, told reporters after the win. “You know, just one of those nights where everything kind of seems to work out.”
At the forefront of Tampa Bay’s sixth-ranked offense (3.44 goals per game), Nikita Kucherov has played his way into contention for the Hart Trophy. Second in the NHL in scoring, the high-scoring veteran has produced 112 points, including finding the back of the net 39 times.
Of those points, a league-high 42 have come on the power play.
A showdown between two of the top teams in the NHL with the extra attacker, Tampa Bay boasts the league’s top-ranked power play (29.4%), while Florida is second at 26.8%.
“We got in the box more than I thought we should’ve in the Carolina game, and we need to rectify that tonight,” Maurice said. “They’ve got so much at stake and on the line. They’re heading on a heavy trip out west. This will be an important game for them. I think they’ll do everything they can to stay out of the box, too.”
Supporting Kucherov, Point ranks second on the Lightning with 73 points, while Victor Hedman has chipped in 66 points (12 goals, 54 assists) from the blue line. Additional scoring threats, Steven Stamkos (25 goals) and Brandon Hagel (23 goals) are two other key skaters to keep a close eye on.
Looking down at the ice, fans will also see a familiar face tonight.
Acquired by the Lightning from the Sharks at last week’s trade deadline, Anthony Duclair, who spent three seasons with the Panthers before being traded last summer, is now on the other side of the rivalry.
Through two games with Tampa Bay, the speedy forward has scored two goals.
“A familiar face,” Montour said. “I’m sure he’s going to get another warm welcome. Opposing team, so you’re friends before, friends after, but we’re going to have to give our best here tonight.”
Starting 13 of the last 14 games, Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to man the Lightning’s crease for the seventh straight game tonight. Owning a 23-16-1 record with a .896 save percentage, the former Vezina Trophy winner has gone 3-2-1 with a .887 percentage and one shutout in his last six starts.
In addition to their 9-2 win over the Lightning, the Panthers also secured a 3-2 win in their first meeting on Dec. 27. Facing off for the third and final time in 2023-24, the Panthers have a chance to sweep their cross-state rival for the first time since all the way back in 1998-1999.
Eight different Panthers have recorded multiple points against the Lightning this season, with Tkachuk, Bennett and Barkov leading the charge with four points each. Bobrovsky has started both games against Tampa Bay this season, turning aside 55 of 59 shots for a .932 save percentage.
With a chance to see each other again come playoff time, the Panthers want to put their best foot forward.
“Their personnel obviously speaks for itself,” Montour said of the Lightning. “They’ve got a ton of skill. We’ve played them enough now where we know it’s going to be a battle.”
PREGAME QUOTES
“It’s getting down to the end of the year and everyone’s fighting for points.” – Brandon Montour
“We lost our last one. We’ve got four days off coming after this one, so we’d like to win the game to go into it in a good mood. They’re still in the fight, so we’ll get their best.” – Paul Maurice
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers have outscored the Lightning 23-6 in their last four meetings.
- Florida has scored at least one power-play goal in seven of its last 10 games.
- Sam Reinhart’s 26 power-play goals are 10 more than the next-best player in the NHL.
- Gustav Forsling ranks first in the NHL with a +47 plus/minus rating.
- Since Feb. 8, the Panthers have posted a 7-1-0 record at Amerant Bank Arena.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Vladimir Tarasenko – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
Nick Cousins – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Evan Cormier
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- March 16: G Evan Cormier recalled from the Florida Everblades (ECHL).
- March 8: F Kyle Okposo acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 2024 conditional 7th round pick and D Calle Sjalin.
- March 8: G Magnus Hellberg acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for G Ludovic Waeber and a 2025 conditional 7th round pick.
- March 8: Claimed D Tobias Bjornfot off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights.
- March 7: D Gustav Forsling signed to an 8-year extension commencing in 2024-25.
- March 7: F Jonah Gadjovich signed to a 2-year extension commencing in 2024-25.
- March 6: F Vladimir Tarasenko acquired from the Ottawa Senators.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, March 16 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: ESPN+, Hulu
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Channel 29 / App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Click Here
