Sunshine State showdown: Lightning take on Panthers in first round of playoffs
SUNSHINE, Fla. / AP — The defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning will take on the Florida Panthers for the first time in the postseason on Sunday night. Florida was second in the Central Division, Tampa Bay was third. The Panthers went 5-2-1 against the Lightning in the regular season, though that seems irrelevant given that Tampa Bay’s lineup will be considerably different in this series. The Lightning are adding Nikita forward Nikita Kucherov — whose last game was Sept. 28, which just happened to be the night Tampa Bay hoisted the Stanley Cup. He missed the entire regular...