The Tampa Bay Lightning (9-2-1) will look to get back on track after their loss to Anaheim on Saturday tonight against the Florida Panthers (4-5-1) at the BB&T Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET.
This will be the third of four meetings between the Bolts and the Panthers this season. Both Tampa Bay and Florida recorded victories at home in the matchups earlier this month. The Lightning have struggled at BB&T Center, losing the past five games there. Unfortunately for them, Florida has played their best hockey this season on home ice, going 3-1-1.
The Bolts are tied for its best start in franchise history with 19 points in their first 12 games. The team also recorded 19 points in the first 12 games of the 2003-04 season, we all know how that season ended.
Andrei Vasilevskiy will look to record his tenth win (ninth-consecutive) of the 2017-18 season tonight. He has been fantastic in his first full season as Tampa Bay's number-one netminder and 21-5-2 in his last 28 starts going back to last season.
The Lightning currently shares the top of the league standings with the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues and would love to remain there heading into the month of November.
Contests between these two in-state rivals are always intense and entertaining. I would expect nothing different tonight.
Projected Lightning Lineup
Forward Lines
Vladislav Namestnikov - Steven Stamkos - Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Yanni Gourde
Chris Kunitz - JT Brown/Gabriel Dumont - Ryan Callahan
Alex Killorn - Tyler Johnson
Defense Pairings
Victor Hedman - Jake Dotchin
Mikhail Sergachev - Anton Stralman
Braydon Coburn - Dan Giradi
Andrej Sustr
Starting Goaltender
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Projected Panthers Lineup
Forward Lines
Jonathan Huberdeau - Aleksander Barkov - Evgenii Dadanov
Jamie McGinn - Vincent Trocheck - Radim Vrbata
Chase Balisy - Derek MacKenzie - Nick Bjugstad
Michael Haley - Denis Malgin - Owen Tippett
Defense Pairings
Keith Yandle - Aaron Ekblad
Ian McCoshen - Mark Pysyk
Michael Matheson - MacKenzie Weegar
Starting Goaltender
James Reimer