The Florida Panthers are coming off of the Christmas break third in the Atlantic Division after a convincing win over the defending Stanley Cup champions in the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night (Dec. 23) 4-2. With that victory, they hold a 19-12-2 record with 40 points, tying the Toronto Maple Leafs in points and trailing the Boston Bruins by four points.
However, Florida just got out of a bad slump. Before beating the Golden Knights, they only managed to win one of their last five games, with two of their losses being back-to-back shutouts. And in that time, their in-state rival in the Tampa Bay Lightning has been gaining on them. The Bolts are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and have a three-game winning streak at the end of the break. Because of that, they trail the Cats by just one measly point. As a result, this is a must-win game for Florida.
Tale of the Tape
This is the first meeting this season between the two clubs with the last meeting being a lopsided 4-1 Panthers victory over at Amalie Arena last season. But ever since meeting in the playoffs in two of the last three years, the in-state rivalry has truly heated up.
In their respective histories, the Panthers have a 16-12-1 edge in wins during the regular season. However, the Lightning have beaten them in their only two playoff meetings, with eight wins compared to just two.
Forwards
Even if they are not as strong as they were in years past, Tampa Bay still has one of the strongest forward cores in the NHL today. Their 2019 Hart Trophy winner in Nikita Kucherov currently leads the league in points with 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists). His goal total is good for third among all players and his assist total makes for second among all players. In addition, their captain in Steven Stamkos is still one of their most dangerous pieces with 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) on the year. Furthermore, a Panther killer in Brayden Point is starting to heat up as a top forward in the league with 16 goals and 22 assists on the year. Last season against the Cats, he scored four goals and assisted on one other. In his last 10, he’s scored nine goals and assisted on two others.
The Panthers have to find a way to shut down that group…
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