SUNRISE, Fla. – The Battle of Florida rages on.
For the fourth time in the past five seasons, the Florida Panthers will be facing off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning.
Pursuing a third straight appearance to the Final, the Panthers will make their way across Alligator Alley for the first two games of Round 1, with the series kicking off on Tuesday at Amalie Arena.
“We know them really well, and they know us really well,” captain Aleksander Barkov of the highly anticipated series. “There’s a big rivalry between us and every year it’s getting bigger and bigger.”
Despite enduring the grind of back-to-back long playoff runs, there was no Stanley Cup hangover in South Florida for the defending champions as the Panthers ended the 2024-25 regular season with their fourth-most points (t-98) and third-most wins (t-47) in franchise history.
Looking for their third Cup in the last six years (2020, 2021), the Lightning finished the season six points out of the top spot in the Atlantic Division and with the second most home wins in the Eastern Conference (29).
After the Lightning took the first two head-to-head playoff series in 2021 and 2022, the Panthers got their redemption in 2024 with a first-round win that jumpstarted their run all the way to the Cup.
“Everyone’s so competitive at this stage,” said Sam Reinhart. “It’s always a battle; it’s always a grind to get out of it. That’s what we’re here to do against obviously one of our biggest rivals that we see year in and year out.”
Here’s everything you need to know before Round 1 commences.
THE BASICS
Panthers (3A): 47-31-4, 98 points
Lightning (2A): 47-27-8, 102 points
Season series: FLA: 2-2-0 | TBL: 2-2-0
Offense: FLA: 3.00 GF/GP (15th); 23.5% PP (13th) | TBL: 3.56 GF/GP (1st); 25.9% PP (5th)
Defense: FLA: 2.72 GA/GP (7th); 80.7% PK (10th) | TBL: 2.63 GA/GP (4th); 81.6% PK (6th)
ADVANCED NUMBERS (5-ON-5)
Panthers: 55.51 CF% (2nd), 52.40 GF% (10th), 55.04 xGF% (2nd), 53.03 HDCF% (7th)
Lightning: 50.39 CF% (13th), 56.36 GF% (3rd), 50.94 xGF% (13th), 53.85 HDCF% (4th)
LEADING SCORERS
Panthers: Sam Reinhart (39 goals, 81 points), Aleksander Barkov (20 goals, 71 points), Matthew Tkachuk (22 goals, 57 points), Carter Verhaeghe (20 goals, 53 points), Sam Bennett (25 goals, 51 points)
Lightning: Nikita Kucherov (37 goals, 121 points), Brandon Hagel (35 goals, 90 points), Brayden Point (42 goals, 82 points), Jake Guentzel (41 goals, 80 points), Victor Hedman (15 goals, 66 points),
Breakdown: There’s no shortage of gamebreakers on either side. For the Panthers, Reinhart and Barkov remain two of the best two-way forwards in the league, producing at over a point-per-game clip while shutting down opposing team’s top lines. Hoping to return from the LTIR, Tkachuk has tallied 46 points and six game-winning goals over the last two postseasons for the Panthers. In Tampa Bay, Kucherov has secured his third Art Ross Trophy (most points in the NHL during the regular season) with a whopping 121 points. A new face to the Lightning this year, Guentzel has fit right into the core that hasn’t missed a beat. Finding the back of the net 41 times, Guentzel led one of the league’s most dangerous power plays with 17 goals on the man advantage.
GOALIE MATCHUP
Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky (33-19-2, 2.44 GAA, .906 SV%), Vitek Vanecek (5-14-4, 3.62 GAA, .884 SV%)
Lightning: Andrei Vasilevskiy (38-20-5, 2.18 GAA, .921 SV%), Jonas Johansson (9-6-3, 3.13 GAA, .895 SV%)
Breakdown: One of the best goalie matchups in this year’s playoffs and two of the best to man the crease in the last decade, Bobrovsky and Vasilevskiy know how to take a team on a deep run. A major factor in the Panthers’ back-to-back trips to the Final, Bobrovsky has found another level of puck stopping the past two postseasons. Owning a 28-14-0 record during the span, “Bob-by” has posted a .911 save percentage and 2.53 goals-against average. After what would be considered a down year for Vasilevskiy during the 2023-24 season, the Lightning netminder was once again towards the top of the league charts this season. His 2.18 goals-against average was a career best and his .921 save percentage ranked fourth in the NHL.
X-FACTOR
Panthers: Boasting the postseason experience of a hardened veteran, Anton Lundell already has amassed 54 playoff games under his belt at just 23 years old. Posting the team’s fourth most points (17) on the way to the Cup win last summer, the Finnish center carried the play over into a career-high 45 points this season. A critical piece of the penalty kill, Lundell logged the club’s third most minutes while shorthanded (161:01) and has snapped back draws at a 53.9% rate over the past two seasons. When the Panthers need to lock it down, Lundell is as capable as anyone to do it.
Lightning: There might not be a faster rising stock in Tampa Bay. Improving each year since joining the team during the 2021-22 season, Brandon Hagel ranked second in points on the star-studded Lightning. A career year for the winger, Hagel set new career highs in goals (35), assists (55), points (90) and +/- rating (+33). As dangerous as the Lightning are on the man advantage, Hagel’s impact came 5-on-5, where he set an NHL record for netting the most goals without a power-play goal.
REGULAR SEASON
It was a split decision during the regular season, with each team winning twice.
Barkov led the Panthers with three points in the season series, while Reinhart and Aaron Ekblad each recorded two points. Two of the core pieces of the Lightning led the way, as Point and Hedman each recorded a team-high five points.
First meeting on Dec. 22, shorthanded goals by A.J. Greer and Eetu Luostarinen propelled the Panthers to a 4-2 victory. Answering back the next day on Dec. 23, Johansson made 36 saves in a 4-0 shutout for the Lightning.
Scoring twice, Barkov led the way in the Panthers’ 2-1 win on March 3. Closing out the regular season, with much of their lineup resting, the Panthers fell 5-1 on April 15 at Amalie Arena.
“It’s a clean slate, especially at this time of year,” said Reinhart. “It’s an absolute battle as soon as Round 1 starts and really could go either direction, so we’re taking it a day at a time and are excited for Game 1.”
ROUND 1 SCHEDULE
Game 1 – Tuesday, April 22 | Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning | 8:30 p.m. (ET) | Amalie Arena | Scripps Sports, PanthersPlus.TV, ESPN, SN360, TVAS 2
Game 2 – Thursday, April 24 | Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning | 6:30 p.m. (ET) | Amalie Arena | Scripps Sports, PanthersPlus.TV, TBS, truTV, Max, SN360, TVAS 2
Game 3 – Saturday, April 26 | Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning | 1 p.m. (ET) | Amerant Bank Arena | Scripps Sports, PanthersPlus.TV, TBS, truTV, Max, SN, TVAS
Game 4 – Monday, April 28 | Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning | Time TBD | Amerant Bank Arena | TV TBD
*Game 5 – Wednesday, April 30 | Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning | Time TBD | Amalie Arena | TV TBD
*Game 6 – Friday, May 2 | Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning | Time TBD | Amerant Bank Arena | TV TBD
*Game 7 – Sunday, May 4 | Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning | Time TBD | Amalie Arena | TV TBD
KEY QUOTES
“We’re going to face adversity. Whether it’s a game or a period, there’s going to be things that go wrong. This is a pretty experienced and composed group; we’re going to be able to handle those situations and deal with them.” – Sam Bennett
“Systematically and the core is so similar for both teams. We’re not strangers to each other, we know exactly how each are going to play.” – Sam Reinhart
“Every game against them and playoffs overall, they’re always intense.” – Aleksander Barkov
“It’s a huge rivalry and those are the best series to be part of. Emotions are high, intensity is through the roof, and obviously there’s a lot of history there.” – Brad Marchand
“This series is always fun to watch and to be part of it is going to be cool, so I can’t wait.” – Mackie Samoskevich
“You can win the series by the PK or PP. We need to stay out of the box.” – Niko Mikkola
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