The Lightning defeated the Panthers 2-1 in a shootout Oct. 6 and 7-3 on Nov. 21 at Amalie Arena, and 5-4 in overtime at BB&T Center on Dec. 1. Tampa Bay has won its past five games and seven of eight against Florida. Each team is coming off 5-4 victories Saturday, the Panthers in overtime on the road against the Washington Capitals and the Lightning at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mike Hoffman scored the game-winning goal for the Panthers, who are 6-2-0 in their past eight games. J.T. Miller scored the game-winner for the Lightning, who lead the NHL with 84 points, 10 more than the Calgary Flames.
Players to watch
Lightning center Steven Stamkos has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in his past 15 games. Panthers forward Frank Vatrano has scored seven goals in his past 12 games.
They said it
"We feel like regardless of who you are in our lineup, any part we're able to score goals. That's what really helps us and kind of drives everything that we do." -- Lightning forward Tyler Johnson "We've just got a bit of our swagger back. We believe in ourselves, and the way we're playing we've been finding different ways to win. We're getting a little bit of that momentum going like we did last year. We've got to keep plugging away night after night here." -- Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo
Neither team had a morning skate. … Luongo and Reimer have alternated starts for every Panthers back-to-back set this season when both have been healthy. … Tampa Bay has not used the same goalie in both ends of back to backs this season. … Borgstrom is expected back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch against Washington.
Stat pack
Kucherov, who leads the NHL with 81 points (22 goals, 59 assists), has no goals in his past 10 games. … Tampa Bay's past five games were each decided by one goal (3-0-2), including three going past regulation. … Tampa Bay is 4-2-0 in the second half of back to backs; Florida is 7-1-3. … The Panthers have scored the first goal in each of their past seven games.
