Sergei Bobrovsky (center) shares a laugh with Seth Jones (left) and Nate Schmidt (right) after making a save during a Florida Panthers practice at the Baptist Health icePlex in Fort Lauderdale on April 18, 2025. (Florida Panthers) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/46157b67-dc5a-4799-9c38-122ee89db94e.png] Sergei Bobrovsky (center) shares a laugh with Seth Jones (left) and Nate Schmidt (right) after making a save during a Florida Panthers practice at the Baptist Health icePlex in Fort Lauderdale on April 18, 2025. (Florida Panthers) The day has arrived. Saturday is the official start of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s a bit of a slow open, as only four of the 16 teams that qualified for the postseason will begin their respective quests for the Cup on day one. First, the Presidents’ Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets will host the St. Louis Blues at 6 p.m. ET before the Dallas Stars host the Colorado Avalanche at 8:30 p.m. in the nightcap. Both games will air on TNT, with full studio coverage for pregame, intermission and postgame discussions. Six teams will get started on Sunday, and four more on Monday before the Florida Panthers will finally get to play their playoff opener on Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’ll be the fourth time in the past five postseasons that the Cats and Bolts will face off in a best-of-7. Tampa Bay won the first two series’ back in 2020-21 and 2021-22 while the Panthers took down the Lightning in five games last season. This year’s series should be an extremely entertaining spectacle as both teams are loaded with talent, very well coached and full of experience. Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said he expects the Panthers to have everyone on the active roster healthy and available for Game 1 on Tuesday. Whether or not that ends up including injured forward Matthew Tkachuk remains to be seen. That’s actually an area where Florida’s late series start could benefit them, as it gives Tkachuk more time to ramp up his workload and eventually rejoin the lineup. The Panthers will be back on the ice Saturday. We’ll see whether Tkachuk is out there with his teammates, or whether he skates on his own. Stay tuned. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA The Hockey Show: Stanley Cup Playoffs preview, Panthers ready to push for repeat [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/the-hockey-show-stanley-cup-playoffs-preview-panthers-ready-to-push-for-repeat] Maurice: Decision on Tkachuk coming Monday, everyone else 'possible for Game 1' [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/maurice-decision-on-tkachuk-coming-monday-everyone-else-possible-for-game-1] Schedule released for Panthers playoff series against Tampa Bay [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/schedule-released-for-panthers-playoff-series-against-tampa-bay] '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]
