George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Stanley Cup playoffs roared into its second day — yeah, the Panthers and Lightning are still at the gate waiting to board — with the Toronto Maple Leafs making a serious statement in their Battle of Ontario series.
Toronto certainly looked like a team that has been there before.
The Senators looked a little shaky.
In the end, the Maple Leafs ran away with a 6-2 win in Game 1.
Of the eight first-round series, five have started with two more (Washington/Montreal and Edmonton/Los Angeles) kicking off tonight.
That leaves the Panthers and Lightning still waiting to get underway.
When the Sunshine Skate does get going, three of the first-round series will be two games deep.
It should be worth the wait.
FLORIDA PANTHERS / FHN / MIAMI HEAT
- Brad Marchand will bring some serious juice to the Panthers when these playoffs finally get going. He has been pretty, pretty good in the postseason over the years.
- Matthew Tkachuk was back at practice Saturday. It was the first time he’s been out there since being hurt at the 4 Nations tournament.
- Seth Jones returns to the playoffs for the first time since he was playing for John Tortorella and the Blue Jackets in a Covid bubble. Feels like a long time ago to a lot of us, Jones included. FHN+
- Aaron Ekblad still has two games left in his suspension which means he’s not back until Game 3.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy is back to his old form. Could be a problem for the Panthers.
- The Cavaliers elite offense was too much for the Heat in Game 1.
- Subscribe to the FHN YouTube channel to hear from the Florida Panthers throughout the postseason. From Saturday: Paul Maurice, Marchand, and Mackie Samoskevich. More before the flight to Tampa today.
NHL NEWS, LINKS, NOTES
- The Hurricanes put a beating down on the New Jersey Devils in Game 1.
- Vegas Golden Knights drop the Wild in Game 1.
- Taking a look at Montreal Canadiens phenom Lane Hutson by the numbers.
- MacKenzie Blackwood had a fantastic postseason debut with the Colorado Avalanche.
- New York Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov hopes to be ready for training camp after December knee surgery.
- Jeff Skinner gets into his first playoff game in his 15th season. Maurice had something to say about it.
2025 NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND: GAME 1
FLORIDA PANTHERS at TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
- When: Tuesday, 8:30 p.m.
- Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa
- Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
- National TV: ESPN
- Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
- 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 — Game 1 at Tampa: Tuesday, 8:30; Game 2 at Tampa: Thursday, 6:30; Game 3 at Florida: Saturday, 1; Game 4 at Florida: Monday, April 28 (TBA); Game 5* at Tampa: Wednesday, April 30 (TBA); Game 6* at Florida: Friday, May 2 (TBA); Game 7* at Tampa: Sunday, May 4 (TBA).
- Season Series (Tied 2-2)
- 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.
For more Florida Panthers news and analysis, visit Florida Hockey Now throughout the day
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