Preview: Lightning welcome Panthers to town for holiday showdown
TV: FOX Sports Sun in North and Central Florida; FOX Sports Florida in South Florida
TIME: Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on FOX Sports Sun; 7 p.m. on FOX Sports Florida
STREAM IT LIVE ON FOX SPORTS GO
Florida Panthers (18-12-5, third in the Atlantic Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (17-13-4, sixth in the Atlantic Division)
BOTTOM LINE
Jonathan Huberdeau and Florida square off against Tampa Bay. He ranks seventh in the in the NHL with 47 points, scoring 13 goals and recording 34 assists.
The Lightning are 13-8-2 in conference games. Tampa Bay is eighth in the NHL shooting 10.4% and averaging 3.4 goals on 33.1 shots per game.
The Panthers are 4-4-1 against the rest of their division. Florida has scored 123 goals and is third in the NHL averaging 3.5 goals per game. Brett Connolly leads the team with 14.
In their last meeting on Dec. 10, Tampa Bay won 2-1.
TOP PERFORMERS
Steven Stamkos leads the Lightning with 13 goals, adding 17 assists and totaling 30 points. Alex Killorn has recorded four goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Huberdeau has collected 47 total points while scoring 13 goals and totaling 34 assists for the Panthers. Aleksander Barkov Jr. has recorded four goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Florida.
LAST 10 GAMES
Panthers: 6-4-0, averaging 3.5 goals, six assists, 3.5 penalties and 7.9 penalty minutes while allowing 1.9 goals per game with a .944 save percentage.
Lightning: 5-4-1, averaging three goals, 4.9 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .899 save percentage.
INJURIES
Lightning: Nikita Kucherov: day to day (lower body).
Panthers: Jayce Hawryluk: out (upper body).
