Game #1 Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers

The Tampa Bay Lightning are gearing up to face off against the Florida Panthers in Game #1 of their playoff series. The game is set to take place at 12:30 PM EST at the Amerant Bank Arena and will be broadcast on BSSUN, BSFL, ESPN, ESPN+, and Hulu.

The Panthers, who finished the regular season with a record of 52-24-6, are led by top scorer Sam Reinhart and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. The Lightning will need to find scoring from players outside of their top line, as the Panthers have done a good job of shutting down their top trio in the past.

One key for the Lightning will be getting to the high-scoring areas against Bobrovsky, who has a save percentage of .822 on high-danger shots. They will also need to break the Panthers’ forecheck and move the puck quickly to generate offense.

Special teams will also be crucial in this series, as the Lightning will need to improve their power play performance against the Panthers. In the regular season, the Lightning struggled on the power play against Florida, scoring zero goals while surrendering two short-handed goals.

The projected lines for both teams include key players like Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and Steven Stamkos for the Lightning, and Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Aaron Ekblad for the Panthers. The return of Ekblad to the Panthers’ lineup will be a boost for their defense.

Overall, this series promises to be an exciting matchup between two talented teams. The Lightning will need to execute their game plan effectively to come out on top against the Panthers in Game #1.