The Florida Panthers face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight for Game three of the I-75 series. It will be played in Tampa and telecast on Bally Sports at 6:30 p.m.
The Panthers, who had a fine year on the ice, are down 2-0, and a loss tonight would be almost fatal.
The first game was instructive in looking ahead to tonight’s matchup. Tampa Bay won in overtime 5-4. The Panthers struggled on defense. Their goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, stopped 35 of the Lightning’s 40 shots.
The team lost the second game 3-1 in a heartbreaker — with Mason Marchment scoring the lone goal. There were fewer shots, but Aleksander Barkov, who scored the first goal in the opener, was stymied — gaining only an assist.
A big question for tonight is whether the team will again go with goalie Brobrov or backup Chris Driedger, who played in the net during the second game.
