Panthers still lead 2-1 in the Eastern Conference First Round
SUNRISE, Fla. – This series is just starting to heat up.
After stunning their cross-state rivals and winning the first two game of the Eastern Conference First Round on the road, the Florida Panthers kicked off their home playoff sate with a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
With Game 4 slated for Monday in Sunrise, the Panthers still lead the series 2-1.
“[We can] learn a lot from this game,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Obviously, we had a great start. We did the right things, but they’re a great team also. They played really well and won the game today. All we’ve got to do is learn.”
Sending a sellout crowd into a frenzy, the Panthers broke the ice just 2:43 into the first period when Matthew Tkachuk tapped in a feed from Sam Bennett to make it 1-0.
Matthew Tkachuk makes it 1-0 early in the first period against Tampa Bay.
After missing the final 25 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, Tkachuk, despite easing his way back into bigger minutes, has scored three goals in the series so far.
With a chance to even the score soon after, the Lightning were held in check again on the power play by Florida’s penalty kill, which allowed zero shots on goal over the two minutes.
Finding the tying goal for Tampa Bay, Jake Guentzel made a nifty move in the slot before firing a wrist shot on net that went off Brayden Point and past Sergei Bobrovsky to make it 1-1 at 17:15.
Through one period, the Panthers led 13-3 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.
Taking their first lead of the series, the Lightning went up 2-1 in the second period when -– after an extended shift in the offensive zone — Nick Paul fired a shot from the right circle on a 2-on-1 rush that managed to slip under Bobrovsky’s left pad and into the cage at 13:17.
Throughout the middle frame, the physicality also ramped between the two rival clubs.
With the action at 4-on-4 to start the third period following a multi-player altercation at the end of the second, the Lightning extended their lead to 3-1 when Guentzel fired a shot from in close that rode up Bobrovsky and into the top of the twine just 33 seconds into the period.
“I think they just did the same thing they’ve done the last games, but our game was just a little off,” forward Eetu Luostarinen said. “I think we can do little things better and just go from here. It’s a long series.”
Keeping the Panthers from cutting into their two-goal deficit, Vasilevskiy robbed Barkov on a quality chance from the slot on the power play with a little over 12 minutes remaining.
The MVP for the opposition, Vasilevskiy stopped 14 of 15 high-danger shots he faced in Game 3.
At 14:19, Luke Glendening scored on an odd-man rush to put the Lightning up 4-1.
With five minutes left in regulation, Anthony Cirelli’s empty-net goal made it 5-1.
Right after the goal, Tkachuk was assessed a five-minute penalty for interference for hitting Guentzel after his set-up pass to Cirelli. With temperatures continue to flare, Cirelli and Niko Mikkola were both assessed misconducts for altercations that followed.
Just another game in the Battle of Florida.
“It just went flat for a while,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the loss. “I liked our start at 1-1 straight through to 2-1. Missed connections on a bunch of stuff, not that far off it. … It was just a quiet block of the game, which wouldn’t be prototypical for our game. A couple knucklers on ya, and you’re down 3-1 and chasing it a bit.”
THEY SAID IT
“That’s what both these goalies will do, they’ll win hockey games.” – Paul Maurice
“They’re a good team. They’re going to put pressure on us, and they did. They got the goals, they got the lead, and the win as well.” – Aleksander Barkov
“I think we just have to be smart in the neutral zone. They like to do quick up and move the puck fast.” – Eetu Luostarinen
CATS STATS
– Matthew Tkachuk is one of three players in franchise history to reach 20 playoff goals.
– The Panthers led 50-30 in shot attempts and 24-14 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.
– Aleksander Barkov won a team-high nine faceoffs.
– Eetu Luostarinen had a game-high nine hits.
– Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones each blocked four shots.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The series will stay in Sunrise.
Trying to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference First Round, the Panthers will host the Lightning for Game 4 at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.
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