Playoff primer: How and where Lightning fans can follow the opening round - Tampa Bay Times

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SUNRISE — Throughout an abbreviated 56-game regular season, the Lightning’s goal was to get back to the playoffs so they could defend their Stanley Cup championship.

Now, the Lightning will face their cross-state rivals, the Florida Panthers, in the first round, marking the first time the teams have met in the playoffs.

Here’s what fans need to know to follow the series. The league has not yet announced dates or times for the games, expected to get underway this weekend.

How available are tickets?

Amalie Arena will host 7,000 fans a game for the first round. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

Are you willing to drive? Since there is limited capacity — Amalie Arena will host 7,000 fans a game for the first round — demand is higher than the supply of tickets. Tickets for Lightning first-round home games were offered first to season ticket plan holders and then Lightning Insider email list subscribers. The process is ongoing.

Panthers home-game tickets have not sold out. As of Monday morning, TicketMaster still showed a few two-seat pods available for both Games 1 and 2 at BB&T Center starting at $100 a seat in the 300 level. Depending on where you live in the Tampa Bay area, it’s a 3½-4-hour drive to the arena in Sunrise, located just a few minutes off Alligator Alley.

BB&T Center will be at just under 50 percent capacity — about 9,000 to 10,000 seats — for the first round. There also is a chance the Panthers could release more seats on game days.

Otherwise, you’re going to pay a premium. On third-party sites like StubHub, tickets for Lightning home first-round games currently range wildly, from $167 a seat to $836 for the Chase Club. Remember when purchasing that you’ll have to buy in pods of two to four seats.

Resale tickets for the games in Sunrise are less expensive, starting at $116 each for seats in the 300 level, but there are many available. Prepare to pay around $250 a seat for a 100 level ticket.

How do I watch?

The Lightning’s first-round games against Florida will be broadcast on Bally Sports Sun. [ Bally Sports ]

The Lightning’s first-round games will be broadcast on Bally Sports Sun, which extends the season-long frustration for fans who no longer can get the team’s local TV rights-holder because of a carriage-fee dispute that makes it unavailable for Frontier cable subscribers and Hulu and YouTubeTV streamers.

For those fans considering a switch so they can watch Lightning postseason hockey, know this. After this round, the broadcasts go to the national networks, so games will be on NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC, USA and the NBC Sports app.

If you have Bally Sports, you’ll be able to watch both teams’ broadcasts. The Panthers’ rights-holder is Bally Sports Florida, and they’ll be broadcasting all the games as well. But there’s honestly no reason to switch from the Lightning’s play-by-play team of Dave Randorf and Brian Engblom. Just an option.

Also, fans can listen to the game locally to hear Dave Mishkin’s call with analysts Phil Esposito and Caley Chelios on WFLA 970 and on the iHeartRadio app.

Thunder Alley returns

The Lightning plan to resume watch parties on Thunder Alley for the postseason. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

The Lightning haven’t announced it yet, but the team plans to resume watch parties on Thunder Alley for the playoffs. The plan is similar to last year’s postseason, with people watching the game on a projection screen from socially distanced pods. There will be a mask-wearing policy in effect, as well.

The Cigar City Brewery tap room at Thunder Alley will be open, and there could be additional seating in the Pepsi Porch area above the main staircase to the arena. One thing that will be different is that the magnetometers usually stationed at the ticket entrances will be positioned further out at plaza entrances to create a more secure area, allow for adequate social-distancing and cue fans onto the property and into the building.

The open-air areas to Amalie Arena will be opened three hours before puck drop.

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