Florida will host Tampa Bay in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoff series on Sunday afternoon

The Florida Panthers journey back to the Stanley Cup Final will begin this weekend.

On Wednesday night the NHL announced the start times for each of the four Eastern Conference first round series.

The Panthers will host Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. from Amerant Bank Arena.

Expect Florida to be rested and healthy when the series begins.

The Panthers last played on Tuesday night when they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 in Florida's regular season finale, clinching the Atlantic Division title in the process.

Head Coach Paul Maurice did not have his players on the ice for practice on Wednesday and they won't practice on Thursday, either.

Instead, the Panthers will likely go hard with skates on Friday and Saturday ahead of Sunday's series opener.

The schedule for the remainder of the first round is expected to be released in the coming days.

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