Apr 15, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) is congratulated by center Yanni Gourde (37), center Brayden Point (21) and defenseman Darren Raddysh (43) after he scored a goal against the Florida Panthers during the second period at Amalie Arena. (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/9dbc333f-ac66-46f2-8951-42e6a34f2ff1.jpeg] Apr 15, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) is congratulated by center Yanni Gourde (37), center Brayden Point (21) and defenseman Darren Raddysh (43) after he scored a goal against the Florida Panthers during the second period at Amalie Arena. (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images) The Florida Panthers wrapped up their regular season schedule on Tuesday night in Tampa Bay. Locked into third place in the Atlantic Division, Florida rested several of their key players in preparation for the battles to come in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, still had a shot at the division title, so they were going all out, and that led to a lopsided 5-1 final score. It didn’t take long for the Lightning to strike first. Yanni Gourde sent a cross-ice pass to Brayden Point as he crossed into Florida’s zone, and Point fired a quick shot that beat Vitek Vanecek glove side and put the Bolts up 1-0 just 92 seconds into the game. A Conor Geekie one-timer and a shorthanded goal by Jake Guentzel less than three minutes apart sent Tampa into the first intermission riding high and leading 3-0. Things got worse for Florida early in the second period when Nikita Kucherov was the recipient of a pretty passing play. A failed zone clear by Seth Jones led to Point finding Yanni Gourde who quickly fed Kucherov at the side of the net. His 37th goal and 120th point extended Tampa’s lead to 4-0. Florida finally got on the board thanks to newcomer Brad Marchand. Taking a neutral zone pass from Carter Verhaeghe, Marchand wired a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove to get the Cats going. Kucherov picked up point 121 when he assisted on a 5-on-3 power play goal by Darren Raddysh late in the third after a round of penalties that started with an illegal check to the head by Jesse Puljujarvi. These teams will meet again, soon and often. On to the playoffs. QUICK THOUGHTS Florida and Tampa will meet in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. Marchand played in his 1,100th NHL game on Tuesday. He’s now got two goals and three points over his past four games. Verhaeghe closed out the regular season on a five-game point streak, racking up three goals and six points during the run. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Locked into third place, Panthers close out regular season in Tampa against potential first round opponent [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/locked-into-third-place-panthers-close-out-regular-season-in-tampa-against-potential-first-round-opponent] Three takeaways: Not the prettiest of games, Kulikov solid in return from injury [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-not-the-prettiest-of-games-kulikov-solid-in-return-from-injury] Panthers allow Rangers to score four straight goals, lose 5-3 in final home game of regular season [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-allow-rangers-to-score-four-straight-goals-lose-5-3-in-final-home-game-of-regular-season] 'He's not that far off': Paul Maurice provides update on Matthew Tkachuk as playoffs near [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/hes-not-that-far-off-paul-maurice-provides-update-on-matthew-tkachuk-as-playoffs-near] Final Panthers home game of regular season comes against underachieving Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/final-panthers-home-game-of-regular-season-comes-against-underachieving-rangers]
