Lightning will know first-round NHL playoffs opponent tonight

The Lightning will know their first-round playoff opponent — either the Boston Bruins or Florida Panthers — by the end of tonight. The Lightning are locked into the Eastern Conference's first wild-card spot. With the Rangers clinching the No. 1 seed in the East as the winner of the Metropolitan Division, Tampa Bay will play whichever team wins the Atlantic. The Bruins (109 points) currently hold a one-point lead over the Panthers (108), with both teams playing their regular-season finales tonight at home.