Panthers lose Game 2 on key mistake

SUNRISE, Fla. --The Florida Panthers might have a long summer to think about the final 15 seconds of their
2-1 loss
to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.

The mistakes that ended with Ross Colton scoring the game-winning goal with 3.8 seconds remaining are the kind that could haunt a team, but the Panthers have little time to wallow as they look to turn the page and get back in the best-of-7 series in Game 3 at Tampa Bay on Sunday (1:30 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS).
"It's not easy," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "It's one of those things that hurts, obviously, but it's a roller coaster ride that we're in and the sun will come up. Wake up and keep playing like we're playing. I really liked our game. I liked most of our game Game 1.
"Just a learning experience again against a team that doesn't give you too many openings, and we kind of gave away one there."
RELATED: [Complete Panthers vs. Lightning series coverage]
Similar to their 4-1 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday, the Lightning demonstrated their championship pedigree by finding a way to win when the Panthers could not. After Florida took a 1-0 lead and controlled play for most of the first two periods, Tampa Bay responded by scoring four unanswered goals, including three in the third period.
On Thursday, the Lightning took a 1-0 lead when Corey Perry scored a power-play goal at 12:06 of the first period, but the Panthers kept pushing and were finally rewarded with Eetu Luostarinen's tying goal with 1:53 remaining in the second period.
Riding the momentum from that goal, Florida had a chance to take the lead when Nikita Kucherov was called for tripping with 47 seconds left in the second, but it could not convert on the ensuing power play.
Then, a tripping penalty on Steven Stamkos with 3:23 left in the third period gave the Panthers another shot on the power play, but again, they failed to convert.
Florida finished the game 0-for-4 with the man-advantage and is 0-for-25 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"It's really unbelievable," Brunette said." But I liked the urgency. We had some looks. I thought it was better and it was a great opportunity to capitalize there."

Despite the missed opportunities, the game appeared destined for overtime until Colton's stunning goal.
Even after Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta carried the puck in following a turnover in the neutral zone by MacKenzie Weegar with 15 seconds left, the Panthers had two chances to clear the puck.
First, defenseman Gustav Forsling couldn't get it past Kucherov along the right-wing boards. Then, Luostarinen lost the puck when he had a chance to clear it near the blue line, allowing Ondrej Palat to keep it in at the right point and send it in deep.
"We've just got to get the puck out," Luostarinen said. "That can't happen there."
With the clock winding down, Kucherov retrieved the puck behind the net with Forsling chasing him from behind. But Weegar also decided to chip down from the opposite side of the net, leaving Colton unguarded below the left circle.
Having taken a quick peek over his left shoulder, Kucherov saw Colton skating in alone and made a deft backhand pass in front.
"He's got eyes in the back of his head, as you can see, because I didn't even know that he knew I was there," Colton said. "He gift wrapped it for me."
With the puck a bit on edge, Colton snapped Kucherov's pass over the right shoulder of Sergei Bobrovsky, leaving the Panthers in disbelief and silencing the crowd at FLA Live Arena.
"It's kind of tough," Bobrovsky said. "[Kucherov] was behind the net, right? Straight behind. So he make a good pass and it was a good shot."
It was another costly playoff lesson for the Panthers, who won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL team with the best regular-season record but are still trying to figure out how to win in the playoffs against the Lightning.
"I loved our game," Brunette said. "I thought we were in a great position. Controlled the puck with 20 seconds left and just didn't manage it. Kind of made a fatal mistake."
Whether it proves fatal for the Panthers' season remains to be seen, but they now face a familiar situation they hoped to avoid repeating.
In the first round last season, Tampa Bay won the first two games of the series on the road before going on to eliminate Florida in six games.
"[The locker room] was quiet, but all the guys are pro," Bobrovsky said. "Everybody understands that next game is big. We can make a difference in the future, not in the past, and that's it. So we have to stay together again and keep working."