SUNRISE, Fla. -- If the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to avoid an 0-2 hole in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round against the Florida Panthers, it's going to be through the effort of their top forwards to generate more opportunities.
Steven Stamkos scored a power-play goal off an assist from Nikita Kucherov with 9.3 seconds left in a 3-2 loss in Game 1 on Sunday, but otherwise it was a struggle to get pucks to the net, create opportunities or even get sustained possession time in the offensive zone. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky faced 19 shots and many of his 17 saves were pucks he was able to track easily.
"Listen, what did we have, 18 shots or something like that?" Stamkos said Monday after a practice at Amerant Bank Arena. "It's not a great recipe to produce offense. The shot attempts were a lot closer than I think we thought they were at the end of the game. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think we can generate more and the more chances you get, the more opportunities you're going to have."
Stamkos, who had a goal and an assist in Game 1, is hopeful that the power-play goal is something the Lightning can build off of for Game 2 on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; BSSUN, BSFL, ESPN2, TVAS2, SN360). During the regular season the Lightning had the top power play in the NHL, scoring on 28.6 percent of their chances with the man-advantage. In three regular-season games against the Panthers, however, the Lightning were 2-for-14 (14.3 percent).
They went 1-for-2 on Sunday in only 3:01 of power-play time. They had one shot on goal during a second-period power play when the score was 1-1.
"Both teams have really good power plays," Stamkos said. "We only had 1 1/2 power plays, so we need to get on the power play more hopefully. And that’s when you have the puck more, then you can draw more penalties and that's certainly part of it."
All eyes are on Stamkos, Kucherov and Brayden Point particularly because of their struggles to produce in the 2023 first-round series loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The three combined for five goals and nine assists in the six games, but three of those goals came in a 7-3 Game 1 victory. Point didn't score a goal and Kucherov was held to just three assists in the final five games of the series.
Point led the Lightning with four shots on goal in Game 1, his best scoring opportunity coming on a one-timer from the slot with 57 seconds remaining. Forward Anthony Duclair, who was acquired before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline for his ability to add offense in the top six, did not have a shot on goal.
Stamkos believes that the first few shifts in Game 2 will dictate a lot. In Game 1, the Lightning didn't have a shot on goal until 4:05 remaining in the first period.
"Starting the game with a more simple approach I'd say," Stamkos said. "They're good at clogging it up. We'll have to establish a better forecheck and just hold the puck more in the offensive zone."
In these situations the Lightning lean on their experience above all else. Coach Jon Cooper said the mood of the team is good and he doesn't expect his top players to let their frustrations from Game 1 carry over into Tuesday.
"Did they overwhelm us? No," Cooper said. "Did we overwhelm them? No. Was it a pretty darn even game? It was. They executed on the power play that we didn’t defend well and that was the difference in the game.
“When you're chopping these teams that are pretty even together, that one play can make it. They made the play and we have to make sure the next game we make the play."
