SUNRISE, Fla. – There’s one last battle before the holiday break.
Closing out their home-and-home series, the Florida Panthers will host the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning for a highly anticipated rematch at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.
Winners in each of their last four games, the Panthers lead the Atlantic Division at 22-11-2.
On Sunday, the Panthers topped the Lightning by a score of 4-2 at Amalie Arena.
“It’s going to be six periods of it, that’s the way we looked at it,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “We expect a pushback game from them, for sure. For both teams, it’s a light at the end of the tunnel [before the break].”
In their last meeting less than 24 hours ago, special teams got the job done for Florida.
With A.J. Greer and Eetu Luostarinen scoring 42 seconds apart on the same penalty kill in the second period, the Panthers took a 3-1 lead and never looked back. Sam Reinhart also scored twice in the win, including a power-play strike in the first period to open the scoring.
Leading the NHL with 10 shorthanded goals, Florida has been feasting while down a man.
“You don’t expect your kill to be that dynamic, but it’s been like that all year,” Maurice said.
Between the pipes, Spencer Knight stopped 19 shots, including six from high-danger areas.
“It’s always fun playing them just because they’re so talented and it’s a really good challenge,” Knight said of facing the high-flying Lightning. “I think that makes us better.”
After backing up Knight last night, Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to man the crease in tonight’s rematch with the Lightning. Heating up heading into the holidays, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has gone 7-1-0- over his last eight starts with a .917 save percentage.
In his career against Tampa Bay, Bobrovsky boasts a 13-12-3 record.
Jonah Gadjovich and Jesper Boqvist both missed the game against the Lightning due to upper-body injuries and their collective status is currently day-to-day. Filling in, Rasmus Asplund was called up from the AHL on Sunday saw 7:56 of ice time against the Lightning.
With no morning skate, lineup updates will come when Maurice speaks at 4:30 p.m. ET.
"I've seen his game for years, back to the Buffalo games,” Reinhart said of Asplund. “You just know what you're going to get from him. He's got a tremendous work ethic."
Sitting fourth in the Atlantic Division at 18-11-2, the Lightning saw their winning streak snapped at four games with their loss to the Panthers. In defeat, Nick Paul and Brayden Point lit the lamp, while Andrei Vasilevskiy surrendered three goals on 25 shots against.
Nikita Kucherov leads Tampa Bay with 49 points (14 goals, 35 assists), while Point is second with 39 points, including a team-high 22 goals. Brandon Hagel is third in scoring with 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists), but has just four goals in 17 career games against Florida.
While the Lightning could opt to start Vasilevskiy once again given it's the final game before the holiday break, they could also give their starter a rest and turn to backup Jonas Johansson, who’s gone 3-1-1 with a .882 save percentage in six appearances this season.
Since 2020-21, the Panthers have gone 6-3-1 against the Lightning in Sunrise.
THEY SAID IT
“The guy scores like a million goals, but I think I’ve seen like five games this year where he’s eaten a puck. When your best players are doing that, it speaks a lot.” – Spencer Knight on Sam Reinhart
“It was all good defense that led to offense. A couple good plays at the line that lead to some breaks.” – Sam Reinhart on Florida’s two shorthanded goals on Sunday
FIVE CATS STATS
- Aaron Ekblad has posted six points (1G, 5A) during his four-game point streak.
- Matthew Tkachuk has produced 20 points (7G, 13A) in 17 career games vs. Tampa Bay.
- The Panthers rank second in the NHL with 205 takeaways.
- The Panthers are 14-0-0 when leading after two periods.
- Sam Reinhart has scored three goals over his last four games.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Mackie Samoskevich
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Rasmus Asplund
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Dec. 22: F Rasmus Asplund recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Monday, Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT-AM & 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click Here
