The Florida Panthers have been among the many NHL teams dealing with significant injuries. The Panthers, New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild, and Edmonton Oilers are among this year’s postseason teams with injury concerns heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Fortunately for the Panthers and their fans, they get some extra days to get healthy and ready for their first-round showdown with their in-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s more than three days after the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues kicked off the postseason on Saturday.
The NHL released its first-round schedule shortly after the playoff participants and seedings were set. The Battle of Florida is the last of the eight opening-round series to begin.
The puck will not drop in Tampa until Tuesday night. By the time the two teams play their first game, four series will have already finished two games each.
For a team that has focused on getting everyone healthy for the playoffs, having the additional time off could be a huge benefit. So much so that it has raised some eyebrows among the more conspiracy-minded hockey fans.
Call me a conspiracy theorist but I find it interesting that Tampa-Florida is starting on Tuesday
— spence (@sportsfan3314) April 17, 2025
I wonder if wanting tkachuk to play was a factor
NHL conspiracy theories (like most conspiracies) are sometimes fun, but mostly laughable. I find humor in the fact that the Florida Panthers–the same Panthers that were the laughing stock of the NHL–are now the subject of alleged NHL favoritism.
Florida fans could have used some of that puppet mastery in the late 90s through the 2010s, when the franchise won a total of zero playoff series. It's incredible how quickly admiration and disdain can build after just a modicum of success.
Florida’s first-round schedule
The full seven-game schedule for the Panthers and Lightning is as follows:
Game 1 in Tampa: Tuesday, April 22, 8:30 pm
Game 2 in Tampa: Thursday, April 24, 6:30 pm
Game 3 in Sunrise: Saturday, April 26, 1:00 pm
Game 4 in Sunrise: Monda,y April 28, TBD
*Game 5 in Tampa: Wednesday, April 30, TBD
*Game 6 in Sunrise: Friday, May 2, TBD
*Game 7 in Tampa: Sunday, May 4, TBD
* If necessary
All times are Eastern time