Overview

The Tampa Bay Lightning are set to take on the Florida Panthers at home, for the 1st game of a hopefully promising season. We saw rookies, and prospects showcase their skills in the pre-season and training camp. Now, it’s time for the big show. Let’s see what tonight will look like.

Tampa Bay Lightning Outlook

This is the first step into starting the season strong like the Lightning did last season. They play their best game when they are confident, physical, and fast. These last few seasons, we saw the Lightning love to pass the puck. Maybe, too much. The Lightning have to shoot the puck when given the opportunity, and the results will come. Our offense is talented, our defense has no excuses anymore with the addition of Ryan McDonagh from the Rangers. Many people say this is the same group as before, but not technically.

Ryan McDonagh has spent his first full offseason with us, as well as J.T. Miller. Also, we have a couple new additions on the 4th line with Adam Erne making the team out of camp, as well as Mathieu Joseph. This team has depth all around.

These were the lines at the morning skate yesterday, October 5th:

Offense

Miller- Stamkos- Kucherov

Palat- Point- Gourde

Killorn- Cirelli- Joseph

Erne- Paquette- Conacher

Defense

It’s unclear what the defensive pairings will look like tonight since they haven’t been reported at this time. So, I’ll make a guess as to what they will look like tonight:

Hedman- Stralman

McDonagh- Sergachev

Coburn- Girardi

Goaltending

Vasilevskiy

Domingue

Make sure to keep an eye on the 3rd line with Joseph, and Cirelli. Should make out to be an entertaining duo with their playing styles.

Florida Panthers Outlook

The Florida Panthers were one point out of being in a playoff spot last year, so they shouldn’t be taken lightly. Also of course, with the addition of Mike Hoffman this offseason. Hoffman is a threat on the ice with his quickness and speedy wrist shot. But, you can’t forget about their main big 3 over the years with Barkov, Trochek, and Huberdeau. The Panthers are a big threat offensively but, like the Lightning last season their main weak point is defense.

Let’s see what their potential lines will look like tonight (cc: DailyFaceoff):

Offense

Dadonov- Barkov- Bjugstad

Huberdeau- Trochek- Hoffman

Vatrano- McCann- Malgin

Brouwer- Mackenzie- Sceviour

Defense

Yandle- Ekblad

Matheson- Pysyk

MacDonald- Petrovic

Goaltending

Luongo

Reimer

Make sure to keep an eye on that Florida Panthers second line. That could cause some trouble tonight.

Make sure to stay connected with us through the game, as we’ll be giving updates throughout and we’ll also give some commentary as well. Follow us on Twitter, at @Bay_Bolts! Stay safe and have fun if you’ll be at the game tonight!