Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
· East 1st Round - Game 1
Lightning host the Panthers to begin the NHL Playoffs
Florida Panthers (47-31-4, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (47-27-8, in the Atlantic Division)
Tampa, Florida; Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. EDT
Lightning -113, Panthers -106; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Lightning host series opener
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Florida Panthers to open the Eastern Conference first round. The teams meet Tuesday for the fifth time this season. The teams tied the regular season series 2-2. In their last regular season meeting on April 15, the Lightning won 5-1.
Tampa Bay is 47-27-8 overall with an 11-12-3 record against the Atlantic Division. The Lightning have an 8-9-5 record in games decided by one goal.
Florida has a 12-12-2 record in Atlantic Division games and a 47-31-4 record overall. The Panthers lead the league serving 10.3 penalty minutes per game.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nikita Kucherov has scored 37 goals with 83 assists for the Lightning. Brandon Hagel has two goals and eight assists over the last 10 games.
Sam Reinhart has 39 goals and 42 assists for the Panthers. Carter Verhaeghe has scored three goals with four assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 5-2-3, averaging 3.5 goals, 6.1 assists, 3.1 penalties and 7.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.
Panthers: 3-6-1, averaging two goals, 3.5 assists, 4.6 penalties and 14.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.
INJURIES: Lightning: None listed.
Panthers: None listed.
Regular Season SeriesSeries tied 2-2
Statistics
 FLA |
 TB |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2.72 | Goals Against Average | 2.63 |
| 26.2 | Shots Against per Game | 28.2 |
| 80.7 | Penalty Kill Percentage | 81.6 |
| 47 | Power Play Goals Against | 38 |
| 0 | Short Handed Goals Against | 0 |
| 3.00 | Goals For per Game | 3.56 |
| 31.6 | Shots per Game | 28.5 |
| 56 | Power Play Goals | 60 |
| 23.5 | Power Play Percentage | 25.9 |
| 12 | Short Handed Goals | 11 |
| 843 | Penalty Minutes | 666 |
Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Luke Glendening, C | Day-To-Day | Apr 19 |
| Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW | Out | Apr 19 |
| Mitchell Chaffee, RW | Day-To-Day | Apr 18 |
Florida Panthers Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Jesse Puljujarvi, RW | Suspension | Apr 17 |
| Matthew Tkachuk, LW | Injured Reserve | Apr 17 |
NYR