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ESPN’s slate of exclusive broadcasts continues on Friday with the first matchup in the Battle of Florida for 2022-23. The Florida Panthers are hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning, with coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and Hulu.

As an added bonus, there will be a Star Watch alternate broadcast presentation on ESPN+. For this game, fans can follow Matthew Tkachuk and Steven Stamkos with isolated cameras and statistics. The Star Watch feed will also include the primary game camera, so viewers won’t miss any action.

To help get you ready for the game, we’ve put together a guide on all the key players to watch for each team, including in-depth statistical insights from ESPN Stats & Information, and more.

This season, 103 exclusive games will be broadcast across ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu and ABC. The complete broadcast schedule can be found here.

Subscribe to ESPN+ | Stream the NHL on ESPN

7:30 p.m. ET | Watch live on ESPN+
Line: Tampa Bay -110 | Over/under: 6.5

Lightning
Power Rankings: 22
Leading scorer: Steven Stamkos (6 G, 1 A)
2022-23 record: 1-3-0

  • The Lightning have won just one game out of four this season, marking their worst four-game start since 2008-09 (two points through four games). The last time the Lightning had just one win through five games was in 2011-12.

  • Tampa Bay has given up 14 goals through four games, and eight of those 14 goals have come in the third period, tied with the Kings for the second most in the NHL this season. Only the Canucks have given up more (nine).

  • Since 2012-2013, the Lightning have allowed 14 or more goals through four games just two other times: 17 in 2021-22 and 15 in 2017-18.

  • Tampa Bay has scored just 10 goals through four games, tied for 22nd in the league. It is also the fewest goals that the Lightning have scored through four games since 2008-09 when they scored eight.

  • Through four games, the Lightning have allowed 136 shots against. It’s the eighth most in the NHL, and it is the ninth most through four games in franchise history.

  • Stamkos’ six goals have come during a four-game goal scoring streak to start the season, which is now the second longest streak to start the season in franchise history. Nikita Kucherov had a seven-game goal-scoring streak in 2017-18, during which he scored eight goals total.

  • Stamkos has scored 487 goals in his career, and 37 of them have come against the Panthers during the regular season. Those are his most goals against a single opponent in the NHL.


Panthers
Power Rankings: 6
Leading scorer: Matthew Tkachuk (2 G, 4 A)
2022-23 record: 3-1-0

  • The Panthers will aim for their fourth win in the first five games. Those four wins would be tied for the second most through five games in franchise history.

  • Florida has won its only home game so far this season, after setting a single-season home-ice record in 2021-22 in numerous categories: goals (191), wins (34), points (68), winning streak (11 games twice), shorthanded goals (7) and overtime goals (7).

  • The Panthers are averaging 35.8 shots on goal per game, the eighth highest average in the NHL. Last season they averaged the most shots on goal per game of any team in the league, at 37.3.

  • Florida has played Tampa Bay 28 times since the start of the 2016-17 season and have a record of 11-11-6. Those 11 regulation losses are tied for the most against a single opponent during that span (they have 11 against the Carolina Hurricanes as well).

  • Florida has scored 13 goals through four games, and 10 of those goals have come while playing at 5-on-5, which is tied for the fourth most in the NHL in that situation.

  • After being acquired in the offseason from the Calgary Flames, Tkachuk has wasted no time getting used to Florida as he currently leads all Panthers players with six points in four games.

  • Tkachuk became the 37th player in franchise history to score a goal in their Panthers debut with an empty-net goal Oct. 13 at the New York Islanders. He is the sixth player in club history to tally a goal in his first two games with Florida.

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.

Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York YankeesAaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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