Graphic design: Francisco Oporta (Filter by TL)
The Florida Panthers drew first blood in the latest postseason edition of the Sunshine State showdown with a one-sided 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 at Amalie Arena on Tuesday. Matthew Tkachuk sparked Florida’s power play to a perfect 3-for-3 performance by scoring twice and setting up Nate Schmidt’s second goal of the night in a rousing return to the lineup after missing the final 25 games of the regular season. Sams Bennett and Reinhart each had a goal and an assist and Aleksander Barkov chipped in two assists and was dominant on faceoffs. The Lightning got its goals from Jack Guentzel and Brayden Point. Andrei Vasilevskiy had a tough outing, surrendering the six goals on just 16 shots.
- WHEN: 6:30 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amalie Arena – Tampa, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps, FDSNSUN, TBS
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), Real Radio 92.1 (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #GoBolts, #FLAvsTBL, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Raw Charge
- SERIES: Panthers lead 1-0
- LAST MEETING: FLA 6, @TBL 2 – (Recap) 4/22/2025
- NEXT MEETING: Game 3 – April 26, 2026
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (1-0 .909 / 2.00 0SO) Tampa Bay: Andrei Vasilevskiy (0-1 .625 / 6.02 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Tampa Bay
Thursday in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
- Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators 7 p.m. (ESPN2) (Toronto leads 2-0)
- Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild 9 p.m. (TBS) (Series tied 1-1)
- Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2) (Winnipeg leads 2-0)
Wednesday’s games
- Capitals 3, Canadiens 1 (Washington leads series 2-0)
- Stars 2, Avalance 1 (OT) (Dallas leads series 2-1)
- Kings 6, Oilers 2 (Los Angeles leads series 2-0)
