Down 2-0 in the series, the Tampa Bay Lightning look to get back on track when they host the Florida Panthers for Game 3 of their NHL Playoffs Round 1 series on Thursday.
The Panthers won the first two games at home, both 3-2 overtime victories, taking a commanding series lead.
The best-of-seven series shifts to Tampa for the next two games. The Lightning will hope that playing in front of their home crowd will help their reeling offense which has netted only two goals in five of the last six games.
Here, GOAL brings you all the information you need to know about this NHL match, including how to watch, team news, key results and head-to-head results.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers: Date & Puck-Drop time
| Date | Thursday, April 25, 2024 |
| Time | 7:00pm ET/ 4:00pm PT |
| Arena | Amalie Arena |
| Location | Tampa, Florida, USA |
The NHL Playoffs First Round Game 3 between Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers takes place at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, USA on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The game will begin at 7:00pm ET/ 4:00pm PT.
How to watch Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers NHL Game on TV & stream live online
The Lightning vs. Panthers NHL fixture will be broadcast live nationally on TBS.
Fans without access to these channels can stream the match through the streaming service Max.
Plans for Max start at under $10 a month. Max With Ads is available for $9.99/month($99.99/year), and ad-free plans are priced at $15.99/month ($149.99/year) or $19.99/month ($199.99/year).
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers Team News & Key Leaders
Tampa Bay Lightning
Haydn Fleury (upper body), Jonas Johansson (lower body) and Mikhail Sergachev (leg) have all been listed as out on Tampa Bay's injury report.
The Lighting ranked fifth in the NHL in scoring with 3.51 goals per game this regular season. However, things have not clicked in the postseason so far.
Steven Stamkos (40 goals, 41 assists in the regular season) got onto the scoresheet again in game two. He also added an assist. Nikita Kucherov (44 goals, 100 assists) added an assist in game two, his second of the series.
Their defense has been disappointing, but goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been a bright spot, having saved 59 of the 64 shots he's faced.
Florida Panthers
Florida have listed Sam Bennett (upper body) and Ryan Lomberg (illness) as day-to-day on their injury report.
The Panthers have three goals in each game of the series to date.
Game one saw Same Reinhart (57 goals, 37 assists in the regular season) open the account, but he was held off the score sheet in game two.
Carter Verhaeghe (34 goals, 38 assists) and Matthew Tkachuk (26 goals, 62 assists) have scored three goals and three assists to lead the top line. At the opposite end, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has stepped up between the sticks by stopping 38 of the 42 shots he's faced.
Head-to-Head Record
The teams meet Tuesday for the sixth time this season. The Panthers won 3-2 in overtime in the last meeting.
| Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 04/23/24 | Florida Panthers 3-2 Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL |
| 04/21/24 | Florida Panthers 3-2 Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL |
| 03/17/24 | Florida Panthers 3-5 Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL |
| 02/18/24 | Tampa Bay Lightning 2-9 Florida Panthers | NHL |
| 12/28/23 | Tampa Bay Lightning 2-3 Florida Panthers | NHL |