The Tampa Bay Lightning (36-14-4) take on the Florida Panthers (29-24-3) in NHL play on Thursday, starting at 7:30 p.m. ET at Benchmark International Arena and broadcast on ESPN+. The Lightning are first in the Eastern Conference (76 points), and the Panthers are 12th in the Eastern Conference (61 points).

How to watch Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay LightningFlorida vs. Tampa Bay odds

Odds provided by BetMGM.

Injury reportsLightning

Emil Martinsen Lilleberg: Out (Undisclosed),

Brayden Point: Out (Lower Body),

Nicholas Paul: Out (Undisclosed),

Anthony Cirelli: Out (Upper Body),

Charle-Edouard D’Astous: Out (Lower Body)

Panthers

Tomas Nosek: Out (Knee),

Seth Jones: Out (Upper Body),

Aleksander Barkov Jr.: Out (Knee),

Sandis Vilmanis: Day-To-Day (Upper Body),

Tobias Bjornfot: Out (Undisclosed),

Jonah Gadjovich: Out (Upper Body),

Dmitry Kulikov: Out (Upper Body)

Stats to know
In 50 games played, Nikita Kucherov has totaled 90 points (29 goals and 61 assists).
Andrei Vasilevskiy has conceded 77 goals (2.1 goals-against average) and recorded 845 saves with a .917 save percentage (third-best in the league).
Sam Reinhart has collected55 points this season (one per game), with 27 goals and 28 assists in 56 games (playing 21:25 per game).
Sergei Bobrovsky has 810 saves while giving up 120 goals (3.1 goals-against average) with an .871 save percentage (62nd in the league).

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

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Photo: Minas Panagiotakis, Mike Carlson, Bruce Bennett, Luke Hales / Getty Images

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Feb 5, 2026

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