Past Battles of Florida saw the Bolts win with ease, but both teams are in different stages of their Cup...
For the first 26 seasons that the Panthers and Lightning have coexisted as NHL franchises, we were deprived of the Battle of Florida, largely in part due to Florida’s ineptitude for most of the 2000s and 2010s. But for the third time in the last four seasons, these two state rivals will face off in the playoffs. The previous two have gone Tampa’s way, but for the first time Florida enters the series appearing to have the upper hand.
So while Tampa has had the upper hand in their previous two postseason meetings , this isn’t the same Lightning team, and this isn’t the same Panthers team.
The Lightning seem to have an almost parallel attack to the Panthers, as they find themselves with an offense that’s one of the worst at generating chances, but one of the best at actually finishing them. They have the fifth-best offense in the league at 3.48 goals per game, and a lot of that is thanks to the best power play in the league clicking at 28.7%, as their even strength numbers take a bit of a dip. Their 2.53 5v5 goals for per 60 minutes is tied for 17th in the league, while their 2.
The Lightning used to be one of the best teams at both ends of the ice, but much like how their offense has taken a dip under the hood, their defense has also struggled, and it’s a bit more obvious. They finished 14th in 5v5 expected goals against per 60 with 2.58, and they actually underperformed that in terms of their on-ice results. Their 3.25 goals against per game was 22nd in the league and their 2.87 5v5 goals against per 60 was tied with the Red Wings for the fifth-worst in the league.
In terms of their backups, it’s a similar story but with even more extremes. Anthony Stolarz started the season as depth insurance for Spencer Knight but ended up going above and beyond in the backup role. Amongst goalies with at least 20 starts, he was behind only Laurent Brossoit in save percentage with .925%, and he was seventh in 5v5 GSAx with 21.7.
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