Nate Schmidt, Stellar Penalty Kill The Difference In Game 2 Win

TAMPA, Fla. — When Nate Schmidt was introduced as a Florida Panther this summer, he said he just wanted to “step in and not screw it up.”

So far: mission accomplished.

The defenseman notched the only (non-empty-net) goal of Thursday’s Game 2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning — a one-timer slapshot from above the right faceoff circle. It gave Florida a 1-0 lead four minutes into the game.

Thanks to stellar defense and penalty killing, it was all they needed.

Schmidt also scored two goals in Tuesday’s 6-2 win to open this Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup. He’s the only active defenseman in the NHL with playoff goals for four different teams: the Washington Capitals, Vegas Golden Knights, and Winnipeg Jets.

Stingy Defense On Both Sides

To Tampa’s credit, they locked down the Panthers the rest of the night. Florida wouldn’t find the back of the net again until Sam Bennett buried an empty-netter with two seconds left in the game. The Lightning only allowed two high-danger scoring chances on Thursday, with none of them coming in the third period.

After Schmidt’s goal, the difference between Florida and Tampa was Florida’s suffocating penalty kill. They killed all five of Tampa’s power plays and allowed just two shots. Tampa came into the postseason with the fifth-best power play with a 25.9 percent success rate.

And yet, you’d almost forget the Panthers were playing a man down for much of their nine minutes on the kill.

“I haven’t been in a penalty kill meeting since November of last year,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “I sit in the first one at the start of a series so I get an idea of what they’re trying to do, so I don’t screw it up. … We got a bunch of gritty guys that do whatever it takes.”

Barkov’s Injury Status

Aleksander Barkov, Florida’s top penalty-killing forward and first-line center, missed the final 10 minutes of the game after being hit high by Brandon Hagel. Barkov went to the dressing room and did not return. The Lightning forward was assessed a five-minute major.

The Panthers still held it down when their captain was out. They allowed just three shots in the last 10 minutes.

Maurice had no update on Barkov’s status after the game

The series returns to Sunrise for a 1 pm puck drop on Saturday.