Playoff extra: Panthers killing penalties, and maybe Lightning season
Three Panthers stars
The penalty killers
Florida killed off all four penalties it faced, and nearly three in the first period alone (33 seconds remained in the third penalty when the period expired). Granted, the Panthers caught a break when Anthony Cirelli’s redirected goal was negated by an offside ruling in the first period’s final seconds, but they denied the Lightning a shot opportunity on the second power play.
“In a game we got that many (power-play) opportunities and they didn’t, that’s probably the difference in the game,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said.
Montour’s go-ahead goal in the second period was his ninth career playoff goal, most by a Florida defenseman. He also had an assist, giving him six multi-point playoff games with the Panthers. Only three other players have more with the franchise.
Tkachuk continued his torrid series with the Panthers’ first and final goals (the latter an empty-netter), becoming the first player in franchise history with three multi-goal postseason games.
Three Lightning stars
Steven Stamkos
The team’s second-oldest player (34) remains its hottest. Stamkos registered a goal for the third consecutive playoff game (more on that later), while adding six hits and blocking a pair of shots.
Anthony Cirelli
Say this for Cirelli: He left all of his 190 pounds on the ice, registering five blocks and nine hits. He also had a would-be goal on a redirect that was negated when Brandon Hagel was ruled offsides.
Paul’s goal on a nifty Anthony Duclair feed with 5:10 remaining put the Lightning within a goal. He also registered five hits and won 11 of 16 faceoffs.
History in triplicate
With his tip-in of a Victor Hedman shot 44 seconds into the second period, Stamkos became the third player in franchise history with a three-game goal streak to start a postseason. The Lightning’s longest such streak is owned by Vinny Lecavalier, who had five goals in the first four playoff games of the 2007 postseason. Alex Killorn had goals in the first three playoff games in 2018.
Liner notes
Perhaps the most unheralded line of the night was Florida’s fourth group of Nick Cousins, Steven Lorentz and Kyle Okposo, which teamed for a goal and three assists. Lorentz had the goal (his first in the Stanley Cup playoffs) on a Cousins feed that gave Florida a 4-2 lead in the third. The line also was instrumental in Montour’s slapshot goal late in the second that put the Panthers ahead 3-2.
By the numbers
1 First-period goal scored by the Lightning in this series. Florida, by contrast, has four.
4 Shot attempted Thursday by Lightning regular-season catalyst Nikita Kucherov, one more than his total the first two playoff games.
21 Career playoff goals for Tkachuk, one of 12 U.S.-born players in NHL history with 20 career playoff goals in 50 or fewer contests.
100 Career playoff games for Panthers forward Vladimir Tarasenko.
110 Career postseason assists for Kucherov, who assisted on Stamkos’ second-period goal. The total ranks among the top 20 in Stanley Cup playoffs history; only two active players — Sidney Crosby (130) and Evgeni Malkin (113) — have more.
They said it
“The big talk was, we want the believers to show up to the rink (Friday), and if you’re not going to believe, you don’t have to come. So we’ll see how many guys show up (Friday).” — Lightning coach Jon Cooper, whose club faces being swept in the playoffs for the first time since the opening round in 2019
“It’s just little mistakes that are costing us, and listen, that’s the difference at this time of the year. It’s two teams that basically played three one-goal games and they’ve got the better. ... It’s not all about us, they’re doing a lot of good things. That’s a very, very good hockey team over there that plays the style that you need to play at this time of the year.” — Stamkos
• • •
Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram, X and Facebook.
