Panthers unveil preseason schedule, featuring a game in Orlando and three vs. Lightning
The Florida Panthers will be back in action in Sunrise in just a little more than two months. The Panthers on Monday unveiled their preseason schedule, which will begin with a doubleheader against the Nashville Predators at the BB&T Center in September and include three games against their fiercest rival.
Florida will open its exhibition season Sept. 26 with a pair of home preseason games against the Predators. The Panthers will play two more home games in the preseason, play two times on the road and play one neutral-site game.
Florida will follow its doubleheader against Nashville by traveling to Texas to face the Dallas Stars on Sept. 29, then return home to host the Stars on Oct. 1. The Panthers will wrap up the preseason with a trio of games against the defending-champion Tampa Bay Lightning — once at home, once on the road and once in Orlando.
The two in-state rivals will begin the preseason series Oct. 5 at the Amway Center, then the Lightning will host Florida on Oct. 7 at Amalie Arena in Tampa and the Panthers will close out the preseason by hosting Tampa Bay on Oct. 9.
The meeting between the two teams in Central Florida will be the third time they have played each other in Orlando, most recently in 2018.
Last season, the Panthers and Lightning met in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time, with Tampa Bay beating Florida in six games in the first round of the postseason to start its run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals. The Lightning finished off its title defense July 7, beating the Montreal Canadiens in five games to win a second straight Stanley Cup.
Here’s the full preseason schedule for Florida:
- Sept. 26: vs. Predators, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Sept. 29: at Stars, 8 p.m.
- Oct. 1: vs. Stars, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 5: vs. Lightning, 7 p.m. (in Orlando)
- Oct. 7: at Lightning, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 9: vs. Lightning, 7 p.m.
