TAMPA BAY – One more stop.
In the final game of their four-game road trip, the Florida Panthers (16-13-2) will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning (18-11-3) at Benchmark International Arena on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.
“It’s nice to come back (to Florida),” Carter Verhaeghe said after the team’s morning skate. “A big matchup. It’s a division rival. They’re obviously in a really good spot, so it’s going to be a good challenge.”
The second of four meetings between the cross-state rivals, the Lightning took the first game 3-1 on Nov. 15 at Amerant Bank Arena.
"It's gotten heated over the last little bit, but it's competitive,” Verhaeghe said of the Battle of Florida. “Two good hockey teams going at it, and that's all you can really hope for being a player."
Picking up four of six points so far on the road trip (2-1-0), the Panthers (34 points) sit just four points behind the Montreal Canadiens (38 points) for the third spot in the Atlantic Division, with a game in hand.
Winners in four of their last five games, the Panthers enter Monday’s game off a dominant 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday at American Airlines Center.
For the third straight game, the penalty kill stopped all three shorthanded chances for the opposition.
“I think we just bring the same energy as on five-on-five,” said Eetu Luostarinen, who has been a critical piece of the special team’s success. “It’s just easy to keep going and doing that.”
In the win, Brad Marchand scored his team-leading 17th and 18th goals on the season, in addition to dishing out an assist on Sam Bennett’s second period goal.
Over a point-per-game on the road this season, Marchand ranks first on the Panthers in goals (8), assists (7), and points (15) in 13 games in opposing arenas.
“Aside from the elite play, the leadership that he’s brought may be the most important thing,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Marchand.
Sergei Bobrovsky will be between the pipes for the Panthers on Monday.
Coming off a shutout against the Stars, Bobrovsky stopped all 15 shots he faced in Dallas.
Returning home for their first game since a four-game road trip, the Lightning fell 3-2 in a shootout to the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Holding the first spot in the Atlantic Division with 39 points, Tampa Bay is 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.
Missing some familiar faces, the Lightning will be without defenseman Victor Hedman, who was placed on injury reserve on Dec. 11 and is set to be out numerous weeks with an upper-body injury.
Defensemen Erik Cernak, Emil Lilleberg, and Ryan McDonagh are also on the injury reserve and will be out Monday.
Dealing with an undisclosed injury, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy took the ice for the Lightning’s morning skate, but will not be ready to return, per reports.
In net for the Lightning, Jonas Johansson is expected to start.
This season, Johansson is 7-5-1 with a .904 SV% and 2.59 GAA.
Still with plenty of star power, the Panthers will have to be aware of where forward Nikita Kucherov is on the ice.
Always towards the top of league’s leaderboard, Kucherov ranks tied for third in assists (29) and tied for seventh in points (42) in the NHL.
“He’s dynamic,” Verhaeghe said of Kucherov. “He can shoot the puck. He makes really good plays. Has really good vision, so it’s just being aware of who you’re on the ice against and what guys are open. We’ve done it before, so it’s another challenge for us.”
THEY SAID IT
“You’re never comfortable. These are two incredibly competitive teams.” – Paul Maurice on Battle of Florida
“It’s going to be a cool experience. It kind of brings you back to when you were playing on the pond, so being outdoors is cool.” – Carter Verhaeghe on outdoor games in Florida
FIVE CATS STATS
- Sam Reinhart has 18 goals in 35 games against the Lightning
- Anton Lundell has three shorthanded points (1G, 2A)
- The Panthers have allowed just one power play goal in the last 22 times shorthanded
- Brad Marchand leads the team with 86 shots
- The Panthers are 3-0-0 in one-goal games on the road
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
A.J. Greer – Evan Rodrigues – Mackie Samoskevich
Jesper Boqvist – Jack Studnicka – Noah Gregor
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
GOALTENDERS
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Dec. 8: F Jack Devine was loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Dec. 1: F Jack Studnicka was recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Monday, December 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Benchmark International Arena – Tampa Bay, FL
TV & Streaming: WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV
Radio: 560 WQAM-AM (Dade/Broward); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Watch Party: Click here
