SUNRISE, Fla. – You couldn’t ask for a better first opponent.

Just a few days after being acquired in a blockbuster deal, defenseman Seth Jones will make his debut with the Florida Panthers (37-21-3) when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning (35-20-4) at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

The third installment of the Battle of Florida this season, the cross-state rivals have split the series so far, with the most recent game going to the Lightning by a score of 4-0 in Sunrise on Dec. 23.

“We all know the games are very intense against them,” said Aleksander Barkov said of Jones making his debut against Tampa Bay. “It’s a rivalry, so it’s going to be a memorable game for him.”

Jones, a twelve-year NHL veteran, along with the Chicago Blackhawks fourth-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft, were acquired in exchange for goaltender Spencer Knight and Florida’s conditional first-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft on Saturday.

In 42 games with Chicago this season, Jones registered 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists).

“He’s a big man that covers an awful lot of ice,” said head coach Paul Maurice. “He’s got a lot of experience, hands that can make a play, but we’re not going to ask him to make a play from 60 feet away, just some short area plays. We just think he is a really good fit.”

Jones’ arrival to the Panthers as the team is in the midst of a heated race for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, a position that the Toronto Maple Leafs (78 points) currently hold by one point.

Carrying a three-game winning streak into tonight’s game, the Panthers looked dominant in a 3-0 win over the Calgary Flames in their last tilt on Saturday, with Sergei Bobrovsky earning a shutout.

Remaining out of the lineup, Matthew Tkachuk has been placed on long-term injured reserve.

"Matthew's going to be out for an extended period of time,” said Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito following Monday’s morning skate. “We hope to get him back for the playoffs."

Stepping up over the last four games in the absence of Tkachuk, Sam Bennett (goal, three assists), Aaron Ekblad (four assists), and Anton Lundell (goal, three assists) have each tallied four points in that span.

Mackie Samoskevich, the team’s speedy young rookie, has also flashed his goal scoring ability since the break, lighting the lamp twice in the past three contests.

Owning a 7-3-0 record over his last 10 games against the Lightning – including the playoffs – Bobrovsky will get the nod in net tonight. With Knight being dealt to the Windy City, Chris Driedger was called up from the AHL on Sunday and will serve as Florida’s backup.

Coming across the state with an eight-game winning streak, the Lightning have been one of the hottest teams in the league as of late.

Advancing the streak to eight games, the Lightning took down the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals 3-1 on Saturday at Capital One Arena.

During the winning streak, Brandon Hagel has led the way with 14 points (eight goals, six assists) and a +15 plus/minus rating.

Producing over a point-per-game during the streak (three goals, eight assists) and this season, Nikita Kucherov’s 87 points (27 goals, 60 assists) ranks third in the NHL.

In net for Tampa, Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to get the start.

The Russian netminder this season owns a 29-15-3 record, .923 save percentage, and 2.18 goals against average.