New York Rangers (19-8-4, fourth in the Metropolitan) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (21-7-4, first in the Atlantic)
Tampa, Florida; Friday, 7 p.m. EST
LINE: Lightning -150, Rangers +127; over/under is 6
BOTTOM LINE: Artemi Panarin leads New York into a matchup with Tampa Bay. He currently ranks ninth in the NHL with 35 points, scoring 10 goals and totaling 25 assists.
The Lightning are 15-6-2 in Eastern Conference games. Tampa Bay leads the Eastern Conference shooting 11.0% and averaging 3.2 goals on 29.6 shots per game.
The Rangers are 5-1-0 against opponents from the Metropolitan. New York averages 9.8 penalty minutes per game, the fifth-most in the Eastern Conference. Jacob Trouba leads the team serving 42 total minutes.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Steven Stamkos leads the Lightning with 37 points, scoring 15 goals and adding 22 assists. Victor Hedman has nine assists over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Panarin leads the Rangers with 35 points, scoring 10 goals and adding 25 assists. Adam Fox has eight assists over the last 10 games for New York.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 8-2-0, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.8 assists, 3.6 penalties and 11 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game with a .908 save percentage.
Rangers: 5-4-1, averaging 2.5 goals, five assists, 3.7 penalties and 9.4 penalty minutes while allowing 2.5 goals per game with a .918 save percentage.
INJURIES: Lightning: Mikhail Sergachev: out (health protocols), Brian Elliott: out (health protocols), Andrei Vasilevskiy: out (health protocols), Erik Cernak: day to day (lower body), Anthony Cirelli: out (health protocols).
Rangers: Nils Lundkvist: day to day (illness), Patrik Nemeth: out (covid-19), Kevin Rooney: out (health protocols), Artemi Panarin: day to day (undisclosed).
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