The NHL released the full schedule for the opening round of the 2025 NHL playoffs on Thursday. Things kick off on Saturday with a couple of Western Conference games as the St. Louis Blues take on the Winnipeg Jets at 6:00 PM EST. That game is followed by the Dallas Stars hosting the Colorado Avalanche in the Mikko Rantanen Bowl at 8:30 PM EST. Unfortunately, Lighting fans are going to have to be patient as their series against the Florida Panthers doesn’t start until Tuesday.
They are the final series to get underway, with Game 1 starting at 8:30 PM EST. Is that a bad thing or a good thing? It all depends on how one looks at it. The Lightning, who played on the final day of the season, get a few days off before getting into playoff mode. Florida wrapped up their season on Tuesday (with a loss to the Lightning), so yes they have a couple of extra days to rest up as well. Honestly, once both teams get at least three days off, it’s pretty much all the same. The extra couple of days shouldn’t really matter.
What does matter is that both teams get a chance to get a little healthier. It is unlikely that Oliver Bjorkstrand will be back for the first game, since he’ll still be in the “week-to-week” time frame since suffering his injury. However, there is a good chance that Luke Glendening, the Lightning’s top face-off forward, will be ready to go. For the Panthers, the extra couple of days might be more important as their best player, Matthew Tkachuk, is close to returning after being out pretty much since the 4 Nations Face-Off. It isn’t definite, but it sounds like he’ll be back in the line-up.
One nice thing about the schedule for the series is that there are no weird gaps or back-to-back games. Once it gets underway, the two teams are playing every other night. While start times haven’t been announced for every game, chances are the only afternoon start time will be Game 3 which comes on Saturday April 26th. The puck will drop at 1:00 PM for that one.
If the series goes all seven, which is not an impossible scenario, the Lightning will host Game 7 on Sunday, May 4th. Chances are, the TV folks would want that in prime time. For local viewers, all of the games in the first round will be on FanDuel Sports Network. For out-of-town folks, the games will alternate between ESPN and Turner Sports.
Here is how the schedule looks:
Game 1 – Panthers at Lightning on Tuesday, April 22 (AMALIE Arena) 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 2 – Panthers at Lightning on Thursday, April 24 (AMALIE Arena) 6:30 p.m. TBS, truTV, MAX
Game 3 – Lightning at Panthers on Saturday, April 26 (Amerant Bank Arena) 1 p.m. TBS, truTV, MAX
Game 4 – Lightning at Panthers on Monday, April 28 (Amerant Bank Arena) TBD
Game 5 – Panthers at Lightning on Wednesday, April 30 (AMALIE Arena)*
Game 6 – Lightning at Panthers on Friday, May 2 (Amerant Bank Arena)*
Game 7 – Panthers at Lightning on Sunday, May 4 (AMALIE Arena)*
* If Necessary
As they have done over recent years, the Lightning will be hosting official watch parties for the road games. The Game 3 watch party will be at Sparkman Wharf while the one for Game 4 will be at Midtown Tampa. Live entertainment, giveaways, and concession specials will accompany Thunderbug and other “Lightning personalities” at the watch parties.
For those unable to score a ticket to the home games, the Bolts are bringing back the Lightning Plaza Parties. For $5 you can enjoy the game in the fresh air on Ford Thunder Alley. As long as thunderstorms aren’t ripping through the area, those are always fun to attend.
We’ll keep you updated with start times for the games later in the series as they become available.
