(Sunrise) Here’s a sentence that’s never been said: The Florida Panthers are leading a series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
For the Panthers, it’s a great way to kick off hostilities.
Carter Verhaeghe gave the Panthers the lead for good in the third period, helping his team win 3-2 in the first game of their first-round series against the Lightning on Sunday.
Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk also lit the red light for the Panthers, who are trying to reach the Stanley Cup final for a second year in a row.
Aleksander Barkov had two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 shots in the victory.
This is the first time since 1997 that the Panthers have won the first game of a series in front of their fans.
“The first game was very good,” Tkachuk said. Especially since we are on the winning side. »
Brandon Hagel and Steven Stamkos responded for the Lightning, who are trying to avoid first-round elimination for a second year in a row after three consecutive appearances in the final. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves.
This is a third playoff series between the two Florida clubs. The Lightning had the advantage in six games in the first round in 2021, then swept their rivals in the second round the following year.
This defeat caused changes within the Panthers, who hired Paul Maurice to implement a new style. They reached the Stanley Cup final last year and won the Atlantic Division title this season.
“There is history between the two teams,” Barkov said. The last two times it didn’t go well for us, but we want to change things now. We have a great opportunity to do it and it was unreal today. The atmosphere was very good throughout the season, but we had missed the atmosphere of the series. »
The second game of this series will take place Tuesday evening.
Reinhart approaches Bure
Reinhart opened the scoring by skillfully deflecting a point shot from Gustav Forsling at 6:17 of the first period. Well placed to catch the point shot, Vasilevskiy instead saw the puck slip under his arm.
It was a 58e net, season and series combined, for Reinhart this season. Only Pavel Bure (59) has done better in the history of the organization, in 1999-00 and 2000-01.
Hagel then tied the game with just under four minutes remaining in the first period. Bobrovsky made two saves in quick succession against Anthony Cirelli and Stamkos, but the second throw return in the slot gave him no chance.
Verhaeghe restored the lead to the local favorites on a power play 58 seconds into the third while Nicholas Paul was in the penalty box.
Positioned in the corner of the ice with the puck, Barkov patiently waited for Verhaeghe to come in from the point. He found it at the mouth of the net, and Verhaeghe just had to redirect the puck behind Vasilevskiy.
“I didn’t even see the pass,” noted Verhaeghe. The puck just hit the blade of my stick. It shows how well ‘Barky’ can pass the puck. »
Tkachuk scored in an empty net, but Verhaeghe was punished for a double check against Nikita Kucherov with 71 seconds remaining in the match.
Stamkos took the opportunity to reduce the gap. But with 10 seconds left, it was too little, too late.
“It was a close game on the forecheck,” observed Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. In the end, a power play goal made the difference. »
With the collaboration of the Associated Press