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Schedule announced for the Lightning's first-round playoff games in Tampa

Hockey player in a white uniform with red trim plays the puck with his stick while two opponents in black uniforms, one of them a goaltender on his knees , watch from  behind him .
Chris O'Meara
/
AP
Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand tries to move the puck around Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and defenseman Ryan McDonagh during a game on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Tampa. The state rivals will meet in the first round of the NHL playoffs beginning Tuesday.

Tampa Bay opens the chase for the Stanley Cup against the defending champion and state rival Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena.

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s first-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers will begin at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Amalie Arena.

The Lightning also announced Game 2 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Amalie Arena.

The Lightning will host Game 5 on Wednesday and Game 7, if needed, on Sunday, May 4. Times have not been determined.

ALSO READ: Lightning will open the playoffs at home against Florida

Game 3 moves south to Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, with the faceoff at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Panthers, defending Stanley Cup champions, will also host Game 4 on Monday and Game 6, if necessary, on Friday, May 2. Times will be announced later.

The NHL playoffs start Saturday. On Thursday, the league announced schedules for all eight series.

Tampa Bay finished in second place and Florida in third place in the Atlantic Division standings. That gives the Lightning home-ice advantage in the series, so they can open and close the series at Amalie Arena.

All Lightning-Panthers games will be telecast on Fan Duel Sports Network.

Click here for ticket information.

The Lightning will host a pop-up rally for fans from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Centro Ybor in Tampa. There will be playoff merchandise for sale, autograph prizes and playoff swag including yard signs. Former Lightning star Ryan Malone and ThunderBug will appear.

Click here for information on the rally and other playoff promotions.

I’m the online producer for Health News Florida, a collaboration of public radio stations and NPR that delivers news about health care issues.
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