Panthers at Lightning preview: the Schwindts and a fourth-line tryout

Tonight in Tampa isn't about the score. It's a tryout with a rival watching, and the most interesting guys in Florida's lineup are the ones fighting for the last two jobs on the roster.

The Panthers visit the Lightning at 7 p.m. at Benchmark International Arena, and they're not bringing the stars.

The Tkachuk brothers get the night off, and most of the regulars stay home with them. Under the new CBA, veterans with 100 or more NHL games get only two preseason appearances, so the ice time goes to the guys who still need it.

Who's in and who's in net

Tampa is going the other way: Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Victor Hedman are expected to play, and Andrei Vasilevskiy starts. For the Lightning vets, this is the last live action before the season.

Cooper Black starts for Florida, and Kirill Gerasimyuk is expected to take the second half. The two are fighting for the third spot on the goalie depth chart. Black posted a .903 in the AHL last year, Gerasimyuk a .901. That's basically a coin flip, so whoever looks calmer tonight gets the tiebreaker.

The team hasn't posted line combinations yet, so here's what's actually confirmed:

• Lars Eller and Garnet Hathaway make their Panthers debuts. Both signed this summer and both are penciled in for the fourth line.

• Sandis Vilmanis plays after Maurice called him a top-nine player "all day long." He has the first crack at the third-line spot while Brad Marchand rehabs.

• Uvis Balinskis is on the blue line. He's one of four players in tonight's group who look set for opening night.

• Cole and Kai Schwindt play together for the first time as pros.

Maurice kept his pregame message short. "They've been waiting for their chance. Away they go," he said, per the Panthers' preview.

The matchup to watch

Cole Schwindt against Cole Reinhardt. The Panthers' own preview frames it as a fight for one open spot on the fourth line. Reinhardt has two goals this preseason, while Schwindt had seven points in 29 games last season.

Reinhardt has made the louder case so far, and he did it with his hands and his shoulders. Schwindt gets a night to answer it next to his brother, against a Tampa lineup with real NHL players in it.

The Lightning's form

Tampa beat Nashville 2-1 in its opener, then lost the rematch 3-2 in overtime. Jeffrey Viel scored both goals in that one. Dennis Hildeby, picked up from Toronto in July, made 23 saves.

Bad blood, low stakes

Maurice was asked about last year's preseason meeting, which had 65 penalties, 322 penalty minutes and 19 ejections. "We wouldn't be surprised by it," he told Florida Hockey Now, then joked that a two-hour game might surprise him. Hathaway has thrown 1,353 hits since 2021-22. If anything starts, he won't be looking for the exit.

The Ferda read

Florida loses this game on paper, and that's fine.

Watch three things: whether Vilmanis looks like a third-liner against Point's group, which Schwindt or Reinhardt makes the coaches' choice harder, and whether Black or Gerasimyuk gives up the soft one. Our call is Reinhardt keeps the spot, and the night belongs to a kid nobody's talking about yet.

The teams meet again Saturday in Sunrise. The opener is Tuesday in Raleigh.

How to watch

Puck drop is 7 p.m. ET. It's on WSFL 39 in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, WHDT 9 in West Palm Beach, and LAFF 36.3 in Southwest Florida. It also streams on Panthers+, free with an account. Tampa's broadcast is on The Spot.