The upcoming matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers is set for 5 p.m. ET at The Spot. Both teams will look to solidify their standings with key players out due to injuries.
Projected Lineups for Lightning vs. Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning Lineup
- Jake Guentzel — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov
- Gage Goncalves — Yanni Gourde — Jakob Pelletier
- Zemgus Girgensons — Jack Finley — Oliver Bjorkstrand
- Boris Katchouk — Curtis Douglas — Scott Sabourin
- J.J. Moser — Max Crozier
- Charle-Edouard D’Astous — Erik Cernak
- Emil Lilleberg — Darren Raddysh
Goaltenders: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jonas Johansson
Scratched: None
Injured: Brandon Hagel (upper body), Nick Paul (upper body), Ryan McDonagh (undisclosed), Pontus Holmberg (undisclosed), Dominic James (undisclosed), Victor Hedman (undisclosed), Anthony Cirelli (upper body)
Florida Panthers Lineup
- Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Brad Marchand
- Carter Verhaeghe — Evan Rodrigues — Sam Reinhart
- Jesper Boqvist — Sam Bennett — Mackie Samoskevich
- A.J. Greer — Cole Schwindt — Luke Kunin
- Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
- Niko Mikkola — Seth Jones
- Donovan Sebrango — Jeff Petry
Goaltenders: Sergei Bobrovsky, Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Uvis Balinskis, Noah Gregor
Injured: Aleksander Barkov (knee), Matthew Tkachuk (lower body), Tomas Nosek (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder)
Status Report
Brandon Hagel will not participate in the game after suffering an injury during the Lightning’s recent 7-3 loss against the New York Rangers. Coach Jon Cooper mentioned Hagel might return against the Vancouver Canucks or could be out for up to a month.
Victor Hedman is also sidelined, missing his second consecutive game.
Notably, Jakob Pelletier is set to make his season debut, having been called up from the AHL’s Syracuse team on Saturday. Nick Paul has been practicing and could make a comeback next week.
The Panthers are expected to retain the same lineup that led to their 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
This matchup is critical for both teams as they navigate injuries while seeking to improve their positions in the league standings.
