The battle of the Sunshine State may be at its all-time peak.
The Florida Panthers have won eight of their past nine games, tying the Bruins for the division lead in a mission to return to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Tampa Bay Lightning remain in playoff position with a three-game win streak of their own.
They’ll carry an impressive 6-3 victory over the Avalanche into Saturday night’s cross-state rivalry match.
Much of Tampa Bay’s offense has been thanks to Nikita Kucherov, who is back to having one of his signature point-producing campaigns.
He’s leading the league with 93 points amid an eight-game point streak.
If Kucherov was omitted from the picture, the Lightning would be bereft of offense; he has notched a point on 49 percent of the goal production.
Tampa is the No. 1 team on power-play conversion.
Kucherov has racked up 39 points with the man advantage.
![Anthony Stolarz #41 of the Florida Panthers tends goal against the Buffalo Sabres.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/panthergoalie.jpg?w=1024)
This kind of scoring potency has helped bank wins that likely wouldn’t have been there otherwise due to some defensive inconsistencies and goaltending regression — the Lightning are No. 28 in save percentage.
The Panthers, who took the Dec. 23 meeting, 3-2, are the most difficult team to penetrate through the neutral zone.
Sergei Bobrovsky has rebounded to stabilize the Cats with a top-five save percentage alongside breakout contributions from Anthony Stolarz.
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They lead the league in shots because of a balanced lineup that is aggressive on pucks in all three zones.
Aside from relentless five-on-five puck possession, the Panthers also dominate with special teams units despite being the second-most penalized club in the game.
Florida’s tear is no fluke. This is a team that wears its unique identity proudly by playing fire-wagon hockey.
Kucherov clearly owns a kingdom of real estate in oddsmakers’ minds. The value is juicy enough to double down on the Cats bringing the jungle to Tampa.
THE PLAY: Panthers -1.5 (+200, DraftKings)