Lundell steps up for Panthers in Game 3 with Bennett sidelined

TAMPA -- When Anton Lundell was selected with the No. 12 pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, he was expected to eventually become the No. 2 center for the Florida Panthers behind captain Aleksander Barkov.

On Thursday, it was apparent why Lundell was so highly thought of.

Lundell effortlessly replaced the injured Sam Bennett on Florida’s second line in a 5-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Amalie Arena.

The Panthers lead the best-of-7 series 3-0 and will try to complete the sweep in Game 4 here Saturday (5 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TBS, BSSUN, BSFL, SNP, SNW, SNE, TVAS).

“I felt pretty good out there,” Lundell said. “This is the kind of game you dream of, you prepare for, and why we work hard all year. I just tried to enjoy it, but at the same time, push and play as good as I could.’’

Lundell got things going for the Panthers on Thursday.

He played a physical game, keeping the puck in the offensive zone along the end boards before setting up behind the net and feeding a charging Matthew Tkachuk, who gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 10:39 of the first period.

Lundell appears to have a natural rapport with Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe.

“We certainly had a lot of chances. It felt really good,” Lundell said. “As we play more, we’re going to get better together. But today we were quick, fast and strong. We got a goal, and that was pretty good.”

Tkachuk, who also scored an empty-net goal with 38 seconds remaining, is close with Bennett dating back to their days with the Calgary Flames but said it was easy playing alongside Lundell.

“He played awesome, made so many smart plays,” Tkachuk said. “He held on to pucks, he skated with it, put it in some great position. As wingers, he gave myself and [Verhaeghe] the puck at perfect times. And he was hard to play against. He was awesome tonight.”

Coach Paul Maurice went directly to Lundell when Bennett sustained an upper-body injury in the second period of Florida’s 3-2 win in Game 2 and stuck with him for Game 3.

“He is still a young guy, this is only his third full season,” Maurice said. “I know he scored 18 in his first year and everyone got excited saying he was going to be a great scorer. We score enough.

“But finding a young guy who you don’t have to spend hours on video teaching defense -- or just play hard -- it takes years for some players. Anton has some of that Barkov slant to his game. He plays defensively but can also make plays. He was excited tonight. … He did not cheat the game, and he still created offense.”

Lundell also was a key member of Florida’s penalty kill, which went 4-for-4.

“I feel like our penalty kill really built as the season went along,” Lundell said. “We believe and we work hard. Every team in the League has some good penalty-killers, but we believe and know who we’re playing against.”