These two teams from the Central have been great all season. The defending Stanley Cup Champions the Tampa Bay Lightning face a 2nd place Florida Panthers who’ve been marvelous this season. The Panthers ended their season strong with a 6 game winning streak while the Lightning finished with an unsettling 3 game losing streak. From BB&T Arena in Florida on Sunday at 7:30 PM EST, the Panthers trying to upset the champions.
This year I’m not so confident about the Lightning. Stamkos and Kucherov are injured but will probably be back soon. I feel they have not been as good as last season. You might disagree but I think Andrei Vasilevskiy has been okay. There have been better goalies than him this year but is still in the top 5 goalies. On the upside, Victor Hedman has been good like he always is and has a bucket load of assists. Brayden Point is also having a strong year. He was a big part of their success last season and this season has also been as good. It will be a challenging series for Tampa Bay as they play a perfect Panthers team in the 1st Round of the playoffs.
The Panthers have a lot to be proud of this year. I did not expect them to make it to the playoffs much less be the 2nd seed. Barkov and Huberdeau are both having really productive years as Huberdeau is 12th in points and Barkov is 13th in points. Till now, their rookie goalie Spencer Knight has also been marvelous. I would love to see him in the playoffs and experience it because he will most likely be their starter when Drieger and Bobrovsky go. I have high hopes for him and he will be a really good goalie in the coming years. This whole hockey team has achieved so much this season and I believe they are the best team in the Central division. All their positions are cleaned up but defense might be a problem. Aaron Elkbad is injured which could cause some concerns. Other than that, this year has gone pretty brightly for them and they have to continue their hard work into the playoffs.
I believe the Florida Panthers will win Game 1 of the 1st Round by the score of 4-1. The Panthers ended their season on a good note against the Lightning and now they play them again. They won both of the games by 4 goals and that will help them move into the playoffs. The stakes are high and I am sure this team will play very well and eliminate the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
The 2nd vs 3rd seed faces off in the Sunshine State, Florida on a Sunday evening. Can the Florida Panthers upset the Lightning in Game 1 or will the Tampa Bay Lightning win on the road and show they are still amazing without their two superstars? We will find out from Sunrise, Florida soon enough.
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