The Lightning and Panthers meet again for the second time this season.
When: Saturday, February 15 @ 5pm EST
Where: AMALIE Arena - Tampa, FL
Radio: 102.5 The Bone, Lightning Radio
Where to stream: BallySports.com
Lines from Friday’s Practice (these could change)
Forwards
Steven Stamkos - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel - Anthony Cirelli - Nick Paul
Mikey Eyssimont - Tyler Motte - Conor Sheary
Austin Watson - Luke Glendening - Mitchell Chaffee
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Darren Raddysh
Haydn Fleury - Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg - Nick Perbix
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlwRVHDU65A[/embed]
The Lightning will face the Florida Panthers on Saturday night at Amalie Arena for an in-state rivalry game that has continued growing over the years.
The Panthers are coming off a Stanley Cup Final appearance and appear to be hitting their stride again mid-way through the season. They just took over the first place spot in the Atlantic Division from the Boston Bruins.
The Lightning aren’t far behind, coming off a strong January and two big wins against Boston and Colorado. They have eight straight wins at home and 11 wins in their last 14 games.
Tanner Jeannot, who was injured in the third period of Tuesday’s win in Boston, will be unavailable.
“He’s probably going to be out like another week or so and then we can make a decision after that,” said Jon Cooper. “Don’t hold me to that, but he won’t be playing, definitely not on this homestand.”
Nick Paul is listed as a game-time decision after leaving at the end of the second period in Thursday’s 6-3 home win over Colorado. Neither participated in Friday’s practice.
The Lightning are currently holding on to third place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of Toronto. They've started to build confidence and are making a case for a playoff spot.
“When you get to this stretch of the year, every point is huge. The first couple games of the road trip weren't acceptable coming off the break. We knew that. We tightened up a little bit.” said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos.
Both teams feature elite scorers in Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos for the Lightning, and Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk for the Panthers. You can't mention either team without crediting their goaltending in Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky.
This should be a fun one. Puck drop is at 5pm.
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