Preview: Florida Panthers Host Tampa Bay Lightning For Atlantic Division Clash
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SUNRISE (CBSMiami) - The Florida Panthers will look to bring their record to .500 on Monday night when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning in an important Atlantic Division matchup.
The Lightning lead the division with 19 points on a 9-2-1 record. Florida has played two fewer games on the season, but currently sits sixth in the Atlantic with a 4-5-1 record and 9 points.
On Saturday, the Panthers earned an important point at home but surrendered the second point to the Detroit Redwings in a 3-2 shootout loss. The game snapped a six game losing streak for Detroit, and stalled any Panthers momentum earned two nights prior in an 8-3 thrashing of the Anaheim Ducks.
Monday will mark the third of four meetings this season between the Panthers and Lightning. The teams split a home-and-home in early October, with Tampa Bay winning 5-3 at Amalie Arena on October 6th, and the Panthers answering 5-4 at the BB&T Center the following night.
Lightning net minder Andrei Vasilevskiy will be looking for his ninth consecutive win.
Hot Panther
Panthers forward Evgeni Dadanov has recorded 6 points in his past four games with 4 goals and 2 assists. He had a goal and an assist against Detroit on Saturday, after scoring two goals in Florida's 8-3 win over the Ducks on Thursday.
Lightning Player to Watch
Tampa Bay top line winger Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL with 12 goals on the season. He's second in the league in points at 19, behind only teammate Steven Stamkos (21). Kucherov was held off the stat sheet in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Ducks.
Face-off for Panthers-Lightning is set for 7:30 PM from the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. You can listen to the game on 560 WQAM.
