TAMPA — It's going to be a Sunshine State battle in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
What You Need To Know
- For the third time in four years, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers will meet in the playoffs
- The Bolts beat the Panthers, 5-1, Tuesday night
- The Lightning-Panthers series will start at Amalie Arena, although the complete schedule hasn't been announced yet
The Tampa Bay Lightning will play the Florida Panthers after beating them Tuesday in the Bolts' regular season home finale.
Their playoff series will be the third time in four seasons they have hooked up.
After last night's win, players said they felt the 5-1 win set the tone for the series that starts this weekend.
Tampa Bay scored three times in the first period.
"Our system, did those small little things, played to our strength, keep building that mentality, that game and working on these details," said forward Yanni Gourde.
The Bolts have one regular season game left — Thursday at the New York Rangers.
"We’re trying to build for the playoffs, and I think that game will be a chance for us to really play well and try to play really like we want to in the playoffs," said center Brayden Point.
The Lightning-Panthers series will start at Amalie Arena, although the complete schedule hasn't been announced yet.
