Florida Panthers (35-15-4, first in the Atlantic Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (30-20-5, third in the Atlantic Division)
Tampa, Florida; Saturday, 5 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Florida Panthers after Nikita Kucherov scored two goals in the Lightning's 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
Tampa Bay is 30-20-5 overall and 6-5-3 against the Atlantic Division. The Lightning have a 16-7-2 record in games they have fewer penalties than their opponent.
Florida is 35-15-4 overall and 7-1-3 against the Atlantic Division. The Panthers rank 10th in league play with 175 total goals (averaging 3.2 per game).
Saturday's game is the second time these teams square off this season. The Panthers won the previous meeting 3-2. Carter Verhaeghe scored two goals in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kucherov has 36 goals and 57 assists for the Lightning. Brandon Hagel has six goals and nine assists over the last 10 games.
Sam Reinhart has 39 goals and 26 assists for the Panthers. Matthew Tkachuk has six goals and 12 assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 7-3-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.1 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.
Panthers: 8-2-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 5.9 assists, 5.5 penalties and 13.3 penalty minutes while giving up 1.8 goals per game.
INJURIES: Lightning: Tanner Jeannot: day to day (lower body), Mikhail Sergachev: out (lower body).
Panthers: William Lockwood: day to day (concussion).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
