Mar 3, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) and Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) face-off during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/c9b32052-feea-4a12-b9d9-d60d75f15ef3.jpeg] Mar 3, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) and Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) face-off during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) The regular season may not be over, but the NHL is wasting no time in shifting focus to the playoffs. On Thursday, the league sent out a full schedule for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Well, almost full. There are still several start times that remain TBD. For the defending Stanley Cup Champion Panthers, they'll open their repeat bid after every other series has begun. Game 1 between the Cats and Bolts is set for Tuesday night from Amalie Arena in Tampa, with a start time of 8:30 p.m. Two nights later, Game 2 will be played with a start time two hours earlier, at 6:30 p.m. Florida's first home game of the series, scheduled for Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena, has a 1 p.m. puck drop. The rest of the series does not have set start times yet. You can see the full schedule below: Florida Panthers first round playoff schedule (NHL) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/72e476dd-f4c4-4061-a610-db9e1f4743c6.jpeg] Florida Panthers first round playoff schedule (NHL) LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA 'Hopefully very, very soon': Matthew Tkachuk teases return to Panthers lineup ahead of Game 1 against Tampa Bay [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/hopefully-very-very-soon-matthew-tkachuk-teases-return-to-panthers-lineup-ahead-of-game-1-against-tampa-bay] Three takeaways: Some Panthers earn praise after loss in Tampa, Cats ready to focus on playoffs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-some-panthers-earn-praise-after-loss-in-tampa-cats-ready-to-focus-on-playoffs] Panthers end regular season with 5-1 defeat in Tampa Bay [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-end-regular-season-with-5-1-defeat-in-tampa-bay] 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]
