How to watch today's Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Playoffs First Round Game 5: Live stream, TV channel, and start time

The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the brink of elimination as they take on the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the NHL Playoffs First Round on Monday night.

Watch Panthers vs Lightning on DirecTV Stream

Sign up today

The Panthers brought their brooms to Amalie Arena last time out, looking for their first playoff sweep in franchise history. However, the Lightning had other plans and won Game Four 6-3 to live another day in the series.

Now the scene shifts back to Sunrise, where the home side eked out a pair of one-goal victories to open the series. Florida have dominated this series so far, but struggled in Game Four, and now they return to their home ice with a chance to progress to the next round with a win.

The Tampa Bay, meanwhile, aren't expected to go down without a fight and will hope to force a Game Six at home, with Game Five looking poised for incredible action.

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.

Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning: Date & Puck-Drop time

The NHL Playoffs First Round Game 5 between Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers takes place at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, USA on Monday, April 29, 2024. The game will begin at 7:00pm ET/ 4:00pm PT.

How to watch Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Game on TV & stream live online

The Panthers vs. Lightning NHL fixture will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN.

If you don't have cable TV, the best way to watch almost every NHL playoff game online is with DirecTV Stream Choice. Best of all, DirecTV Stream packages all start with a five-day free trial. You need to pay for DirecTV Stream's Ultimate plan ($119.99 per month) to get all the channels you need to watch games on national channels: ABC, ESPN, NHL Network, TBS, and TNT.

Watch Panthers vs Lightning on DirecTV Stream

Sign up today

Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Team News & Key Leaders

Florida Panthers

The Panthers' injury roster has been piling up lately. Sam Bennett has missed the last two games with an upper-body issue and is listed as week-to-week. Ryan Lomberg skated on Sunday after missing three games due to sickness, but coach Paul Maurice said, "It's going to take a couple of days to get his engine back."

In four games, the Panthers have scored 14 goals. Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, and Sam Reinhart have all fired three goals in the series.

Tkachuk also leads the team with four assists in as many games played. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has started all four games in net, stopping 90 of 103 shots.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Haydn Fleury (upper body), Jonas Johansson (lower body), Tyler Motte (lower body) and Luke Glendening (upper body) have all been listed as out on Tampa Bay's injury report.

The Lightning have been boosted by the unexpected return of Mikhail Sergachev. After suffering a gruesome leg injury in February, the 25-year-old posted 17 minutes on the team's second defense pairing on Saturday and also picked up his first assist of the NHL Playoffs.

The Lightning have battled on both sides of the ice throughout the series, but they hope their offense, which has scored only 13 goals across four games, can build on a six-goal effort in Game Four.

Steven Stamkos leads the franchise with five goals, while Brandon Hagel has three. Viktor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov have both collected six assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy has started all four games in goal, allowing 3.01 goals per game while maintaining a .899 save %.

Head-to-Head Record

This is the third time the Lightning and Panthers will meet in the playoffs in the last four years. Tampa Bay won the previous two series, including a four-game sweep in 2022.

Watch Panthers vs Lightning on DirecTV Stream

Sign up today