TAMPA – The Florida Panthers will try to pocket two more important points before the break when they clash with the Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Entering tonight’s matchup at 29-24-3, the Panthers currently trail the Boston Bruins by eight points for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand.
“It’d be good to finish on a good note here,” forward Brad Marchand said.
Chipping away at their deficit in the standings, the Panthers snapped out of a four-game skid with a 5-4 shootout win over the Bruins less than 24 hours ago at Amerant Bank Arena.
Even after letting a 4-2 lead slip away in the third period, the Panthers still managed to get the job done against the Bruins in the skills competition. Securing the extra point, Anton Lundell and Marchand scored in the shootout, while Sergei Bobrovsky made three saves.
Becoming just the eighth goaltender in NHL history to reach 450 career wins, Bobrovsky also made 25 saves in regulation and overtime, including a whopping 12 high-danger stops.
“I was fortunate enough to be with great players, great coaches and great management,” said Bobrovsky, who’s earned 195 of those 450 career wins as a member of the Panthers. “I’m excited for the future. So, it’s been great and I’m looking forward to more hockey.”
Returning to the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury, Lundell earned second-star honors and led Florida with three points (1G, 2A) against Boston. Stepping up in the absence of captain Aleksander Barkov, he’s logged 39 points (16G, 23A) this season.
With one more point, he’ll achieve the third 40-point campaign of his budding career.
“I just try to do my best,” said Lundell, who’s on track to smash his previous career-high totals in goals and points this season. “We all know where we are in the standings. All we can do is try and improve our game, win as many games as we can. These games are big.”
Still dealing with bad luck, the Panthers didn’t escape their win over the Bruins unscathed as rookie forward Sandis Vilmanis (upper body) and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot (undisclosed) both left with injuries.
“I think Sandis is good; I don’t think Tobi will be a player for us,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the two players after the win over Boston. “I think we’ve got three [players] that played in tonight’s game that won’t play tomorrow.”
While full lineup information won’t be known until Maurice speaks to the media around 5:15 p.m. ET, it’s safe to assume that Daniil Tarasov, who’s gone 8-7-2 with a .904 save percentage this season, will get the nod in net on the second half of a back-to-back.
Shooting up to the top of the Atlantic Division, the Lightning sit at 36-14-4 and enter tonight’s matchup with 18 wins in their last 20 games, including erasing a third-period deficit in a 4-3 shootout win over the Buffalo Sabres in their last outing on Tuesday.
After falling behind against Buffalo, Darren Raddysh scored with 36 seconds left in on the clock to make it 3-3 and force overtime, where Jake Guentzel had the game-winning goal. Named the second star of the game, Nikita Kucherov logged one goal and three assists.
In contention for the Art Ross Trophy, Kucherov has been one of the NHL’s top producers on offense so far this season, ranking third in the league with 90 points (29G, 61A). The main beneficiaries of Kucherov’s playmaking, Guentzel and Brandon Hagel have scored 25 and 26 goals, respectively.
With star defenseman Victor Hedman limited to just 20 games due to injuries, Raddysh has been the surprise breakout player for the Lightning this season. Entering tonight’s game, he ranks sixth among NHL blueliners in points (51) and tied for third in power-play points (19).
Like the Panthers, the Lightning will also be missing several of their regulars during this matchup as Brayden Point (lower body), Anthony Cirelli (undisclosed) and Nick Paul (undisclosed) are all currently unavailable.
Expected to man the crease against the Panthers, Andrei Vasilevskiy has returned to his Vezina Trophy-winning form this season, posting a 26-7-3 record with a .918 save percentage and two shutouts.
Meeting for the fourth and final time this season, the Panthers earned a 5-2 win over the Lightning during their last trip to Tampa on Dec. 15. In the win, five different Panthers had at least two points, with Sam Reinhart leading the charge up front with a pair of goals.
“It’s a huge game,” Lundell said.
THEY SAID IT
“Uvis Balinskis has just been so good for us. That’s a credit to Uvis and to our pro scouting staff to find a guy in the Czech league at that age to come in. Now he’s running our power play and he’s been incredible for us.” – Paul Maurice
“It’s important to have that emotion, to have that winning feeling. It builds the chemistry and build the locker room.” – Sergei Bobrovsky
FIVE CATS STATS
- Matthew Tkachuk has scored six goals over his last nine games vs. Tampa Bay.
- Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers with 28 assists.
- Since Dec. 1, Sam Bennett ranks first on the Panthers with 30 points (13G, 17A).
- Anton Lundell leads Florida’s centers with a 52.1% faceoff winning percentage.
- Uvis Balinskis has lit the lamp in each of his last two games.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
FORWARDS
Check back closer to puck drop.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Jan. 21: F Jack Studnicka loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Jan. 19: F Noah Gregor loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Jan. 16: D Uvis Balinskis agreed to terms on two-year contract extension
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Benchmark International Arena – Tampa, FL
TV & Streaming: Hulu, ESPN+
Radio: WQAM-FM/560 WQAM-AM (Dade/Broward); 106.3 WESP-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); Panthers GameDay App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Watch Party: Click Here
