Panthers Demolish Lightning In Tkachuk's Return To Playoffs

Amalie Arena, FL – An annual tradition at this point, Game 1 of the Battle of Florida between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning surprised many. Experts pointed to Florida’s tiredness, Matthew Tkachuk’s rust, and the lack of Aaron Ekblad as reasons why the Lightning would roll. But never count out Florida. The Panthers demolish the Lightning by a score of 6-2 to open up the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Like He Never Missed A Beat

There were many Panthers that the Lightning had no answer for, but what Matthew Tkachuk was able to do in his first game back off a two-month hiatus was special. After he was chirped on by the Lightning early, he proceeded to score two goals and an assist.

So Florida had their way on offense, but what about the defense? They were aggressive, overwhelming, and physical – the same type of defense that won them a championship last season. Even without Ekblad, players like Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand limited Lightning damage.

Florida only led 2-1 entering the first intermission. Sam Bennett batted in a shot on the power play early, then Jake Guentzel of Tampa found an answer off a questionable roughing penalty on Tkachuk. This is when the aforementioned chirping began. It took a while, but the Cats responded with less than a minute to go in the first – a tip-in from Sam Reinhart.

WELCOME BACK, MATTHEW TKACHUK 🤯

He scores an absolute BEAUTY in his return to the lineup! #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: @espn ➡️ https://t.co/m0LyTCHYnH
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/oERQwHxieq
— NHL (@NHL) April 23, 2025

Nothing Like Free Goals

It set up the rest of the game for a nail-biter that would come down to the wire. That wasn’t the case as Florida proceeded to score three unanswered goals in the second period. Almost five minutes in, Nate Schmidt nailed a wrister off a Marchand shot for a goal.

Tampa’s bench then gambled with a challenge for goaltender interference that proved unsuccessful. Right off the delay of game penalty for losing the challenge, Tkachuk potted in a wrister of his own to extend Florida’s lead. That’s two goals in 14 seconds for the Cats.

To add insult to injury, Tkachuk nailed a snap shot on a tough angle with traffic in front for a 5-2 lead. Tampa didn’t exactly give up, as Brayden Point cut the deficit to 5-2, but that was it for the Lightning. Schmidt added to Florida’s third power-play goal off a pass from Tkachuk with five minutes to go in the third. Seats were already starting to clear at that point.

HAVE YOURSELF A GAME, SCHMIDTY pic.twitter.com/1MbWBhfSui
— x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) April 23, 2025

To make matters worse for the Lightning, they may have lost a star player. Anthony Cirelli had to leave the game midway through the second period for an apparent yet undisclosed injury. No official comments have been made yet on his status.

In net, Sergei Bobrovsky had a quiet yet solid night. He only had to make 20 saves, which is more than fine for him. Tampa still outshot Florida, as the Panthers only sent 17 shots at the net. Physically, however, it was no contest. The Cats delivered 48 hits on the Bolts, wearing them down for all three periods.

It’s always a good thing when the Panthers demolish the Lightning. They’ll look to snipe another road win on Thursday, April 24th at 6:30pm.