Panthers Start Postseason Red Hot With Win Over Lightning

SUNRISE, FL – The quest for the Florida Panthers’ first Stanley Cup began with a bang as the Cats held on and defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 3-2 in Game One of the playoffs.

Aside from coming up short in the Stanley Cup Finals last year, the Panthers also looked to defeat the Lightning in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history, as their last encounter in 2022 resulted in a Bolts sweep against the President’s Trophy winners.

Both teams have changed since then, and this was a defensive battle that didn’t see much scoring but was a physical show nonetheless. Ultimately, Florida capitalized on the rare mistakes that Tampa committed, and that’s what got them the win.

“Both teams are gonna read the same book,” said head coach Paul Maurice postgame. “There’s gonna be places where both teams still want to be better, and there will be places where both teams feel they were pretty darn good. From today to the drop of the puck (On Tuesday) is how much can you leverage what you think you were good at and how much you can mitigate.”

Post game with the @FlaPanthers Head Coach after the Ice Cats 3-2 game 1 win over the Lightning. #TimeToHunt // #NHLPlayoffs2024 pic.twitter.com/xxZWV5TdS6

— Lemon City Live (@LemonCityLive) April 21, 2024

Not Shocked To Be Here

The opening minutes of Game One were defined by Florida’s physicality with a few massive hits delivered by the Cats. A bit of sloppy play by Tampa didn’t do them any favors.

Things boiled over for Tampa immediately following a faceoff win for Kevin Stenlund, a long shot from Gutsav Forsling is tipped in by Sam Reinhart. The leading goal scorer for Florida in the regular season continues to find himself at the right place at the right time as the puck trickles in for a Cats goal.

Tampa kills off the first Panthers power play of the playoffs.

In the meantime, here's another look at how Florida got their first goal of the postseason. https://t.co/mI5hweFKjv

— Jake Gibson (@JakeTheEmcee) April 21, 2024

The physicality for Florida didn’t go away, however their first power play opportunity (A holding call on Tampa) didn’t result in an early insurance goal.

That may have cost them in the long run as they couldn’t hold on to a 1-0 lead for the rest of the first period. Off a faceoff with less than four minutes to go, Brandon Hagel cashed in on a slapshot coming off a faceoff for the equalizer, which also closed out the first period in the process.

Charged For Adjustments

Period #2 flew by relatively quickly. Both teams committed a pair of penalties that tested their penalty kill, which they both succeeded in. The rare error by Tampa Bay occurred with 24 seconds to go, as a holding call gave the Cats an opportunity in the latter period,

And that’s exactly what they capitalized on, as a beautiful feed by Aleksander Barkov connected with Carter Verhaeghe who was right in front of the net, tipping the puck in for a Panthers lead.

PANTHERS GOOOAAALLL!!!

Carter Verhaeghe tips in a beautiful pass from Barkov as the Cats get their PPG!

FLA – 2
TB – 1

Just getting started in the third period! #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/MIaLn5eRJl

— Jake Gibson (@JakeTheEmcee) April 21, 2024

The remainder of the third period was a war of attrition in which Tampa pelted Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky but couldn’t get by him and the rest of Florida’s stout defense.

Ultimately, the Lightning decided to pull their goalie with three minutes to go, a risky move with that much time left on the clock. This ultimately backfired as Matthew Tkachuk broke away with the puck and sank an easy shot to the back of the net for the putaway goal.

A cross-checking penalty on Verhaeghe with a minute to go helped Tampa procure a power-play goal with eight seconds to go, but the damage was done and the rats started to fly.

Hear what Sam Reinhart had to say following Florida's 3-2 win over Tampa Bay in the first round of the NHL Playoffs. #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/i7piqoMz1I

— Jake Gibson (@JakeTheEmcee) April 21, 2024

A Static Look At The Stats

Physicality was the name of the game for Florida, who delivered 54 hits. Tampa also delivered 55, but the Cats were more consistent in that department.

Florida also played clean hockey, only committing two penalties in the entire game. They also excelled in takeaways with 16 total, limiting Tampa’s chances of getting shots on Bob, especially in the third period.

The Panthers will continue the series against Tampa with Game Two this upcoming Tuesday at 7:30 pm, before heading to Tampa for Games Three and Four.