Lightning Jump All Over the Panthers, Playoff Showdown Next

The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning played a game Tuesday night which, at the end of the day, really did not mean much.

Their next games will mean quite a bit.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs clinching the Atlantic Division title, Florida and Tampa Bay will square off in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fourth time in the past five postseasons.

Tampa Bay, which finishes second in the division, will hold home ice advantage on the Panthers.

Game 1 is expected to start Sunday in Tampa.

Oh yeah, Tampa Bay beat the Panthers 5-1 on Tuesday in Florida’s final game of the 2024-25 regular season. The Lightning end things Thursday at MSG against the Rangers.

The Lightning scored three in the first on a Florida team against without the likes of Sasha Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Gus Forsling.

The next time these two meet, the Panthers could be a lot closer to full strength.

Matthew Tkachuk could return to the Florida lineup for the first time since he was hurt at the NHL: 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

Aaron Ekblad will miss the first two games of the Lightning series due to his suspension but can return for Game 3.

PANTHERS @ LIGHTNING

• Brad Marchand scored Florida’s first goal in the second period, cutting the Lightning lead to 4-1. Marchand played in his 1,100th NHL regular-season game on Tuesday — with 1,090 coming with the Boston Bruins.
• Florida’s scratches on Tuesday: Barkov, Reinhart, Forsling, A.J. Greer, Anton Lundell, and Tomas Nosek.
• Jesse Puljujarvi was assessed a 5-minute match penalty for an illegal check to the head of Mitchell Chaffee midway through the third period.

HOW THEY SCORED

• Lightning 1, Panthers 0 (1:32 1st): Brayden Point gets the Lightning rolling, scoring on a wrister from the left circle.
• Lightning 2, Panthers 0 (15:25 1st): Conor Geekie scores on a one-timer from the right circle.
• Lightning 3, Panthers 0 (18:09 1st SH): Seth Jones gets jammed up in the corner deep in the offensive zone and Jake Guentzel scores in the slot.
• Lightning 4, Panthers 0 (4:42 2nd): Nikita Kucherov gets into the slot off a pass from Yanni Gourde.
• Lightning 4, Panthers 1 (5:36 2nd): Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett roll in on the 2-on-1 with Marchand keeping it and getting his second goal with the Panthers.
• Lightning 5, Panthers 1 (11:22 3rd 5/3): Darren Raddysh scores from the left circle on a one-timer.

FHN’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

• 1. Brayden Point, TBL
• 2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL
• 3. Yanni Gourde, TBL

2025 NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND: GAME 1

FLORIDA PANTHERS at TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 

• When: TBA (Likely on Sunday)
• Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• National TV: ESPN or TNT/truTV
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+ or MAX
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Series Schedule: TBA
• Season Series (Tied 2-2) — At Tampa Bay: Panthers 4, Lightning 2 (Dec. 22); Tuesday. At Florida: Lightning 4, Panthers 0 (Dec. 23); Panthers 2, Lightning 1 (March 3).
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 79-53-19, 10 ties
• All-Time Postgame Series: Tampa Bay Leads 2-1 (won 2021 first-round, 2022 ECS); Florida d. Lightning 4-1 in 2024 first-round.