Tampa Bay Lightning (45-29-8, fourth in the Atlantic Division) vs. Florida Panthers (52-24-6, first in the Atlantic Division)
Sunrise, Florida; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Panthers -185, Lightning +154; over/under is 6.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Panthers lead series 3-1
BOTTOM LINE: The Florida Panthers host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 3-1 lead in the series. The teams meet Saturday for the eighth time this season. The Lightning won the previous meeting 6-3. Brandon Hagel scored two goals in the victory.
Florida is 20-6-4 against the Atlantic Division and 52-24-6 overall. The Panthers have gone 23-5-1 in games they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponents.
Tampa Bay has gone 45-29-8 overall with a 13-11-6 record in Atlantic Division games. The Lightning have a 20-9-3 record in games their opponents commit more penalties.
TOP PERFORMERS: Matthew Tkachuk has 26 goals and 62 assists for the Panthers. Aleksander Barkov Jr. has one goal and eight assists over the past 10 games.
Nikita Kucherov has 44 goals and 100 assists for the Lightning. Steven Stamkos has scored 11 goals with five assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 8-1-1, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.3 assists, 4.8 penalties and 10.4 penalty minutes while giving up two goals per game.
Lightning: 3-5-2, averaging 3.4 goals, 6.2 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.5 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game.
INJURIES: Panthers: Sam Bennett: out (upper-body), Ryan Lomberg: day to day (illness).
Lightning: Haydn Fleury: day to day (upper body), Jonas Johansson: out (lower body).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
