5 Takeaways: Panthers Pledge to 'Stick with It' After Game 2 Loss

SUNRISE, Fla. -The Panthers aren't going to dwell on their current predicament.
After a 3-1 loss to the Lightning at BB&T Center on Tuesday, the Panthers will now grab their shovels, pack their bags and prepare to dig out of a 2-0 hole in their first-round playoff series.

"We're not even close to out of this series yet," Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. "We played great all year on the road. We've just got to stick with it here. No one's hanging their heads here. We're going to move onto this next game and bring it to them in their own rink."
Coming off a 5-4 win in Game 1, the Lightning struck first tonight when, on a 2-on-1 rush up the ice, Steven Stamkos attempted to set up Alex Killorn with a cross-ice pass that instead bounced off a Panthers defender in front and across the goal line to make it 1-0 at 4:52 of the first period.
Feeding off their counterattack, the Lightning then made it 2-0 when, after Brayden Point rung a shot off the crossbar, Ondrej Palat sent the ensuing rebound into the back of the cage at 14:57.
"It had the pace of the last game, particularly early, and then they scored, and then again after that," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said of the matchup. "They had the lead they were looking for, so it was a lot more patient of a game, a lot more structured game. We fought back."
Getting an opportunity on the top line, Mason Marchment finally got the Panthers on the board in the second period when he re-directed a centering feed from Carter Verhaeghe over Andrei Vasilevskiy and into the twine to slice Tampa Bay's lead down to a manageable 2-1 at 14:21.
Between the pipes, Vasilevskiy stopped 32 of 33 shots, while Driedger made 26 saves.
In the third period, the Panthers had a few looks, but simply couldn't find the goal they needed. After pulling Driedger for an extra attacker, Yanni Gourde then capitalized on a turnover and cashed in on the empty net to lock in the 3-1 win for the Lightning with 1:25 left in regulation.
With the Panthers trailing 2-0, the series will now shift to Tampa for Game 3 on Thursday.
"[We need to] just stick together as a team," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. "Obviously, we had huge support from our fans in this building. We loved it. We enjoyed it. We just couldn't come up with wins. We're going to battle until the end. We're going to give it everything we have every game, every shift."
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's loss in Sunrise…

1. MARCHMENT GETS ON THE BOARD

Only one Panther managed to solve Vasilevskiy tonight.
Trimming Florida's deficit down to 2-1 at 14:21 of the second period, Marchment skated into the slot before deftly re-directing a centering feed from Verhaeghe into the top corner of the netting.

Getting a little help from an ally in the stands, Marchment's goal came shortly after Dolphins coach Brian Flores succeeded in firing up the limited-capacity sellout crowd on the jumbotron.

Sliding up and down the lineup throughout the regular season, Marchment, who inked a one-year contract extension on April 5, registered 10 points (two goal, eight assists) in 33 games. In addition to his goal, he also had three hits, one block and one takeaway during tonight's defeat.

2. GOALIE BATTLE

Both goalies were on top of their game tonight.
At one end, Vasilevskiy turned aside 32 of 33 shots for the Lightning, including thwarting 11 of 12 shots from high-danger areas, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. At the other end, Driedger made 26 saves and didn't allow a single goal to sneak by over the final 40 minutes of regulation.
"I thought he was composed," Quenneville said of Driedger. "I thought he was in the right areas in the right ways. I thought he was finding pucks. When you're pressing, you're giving up some quality looks when you keep pressing against a team that's looking for those opportunities - odd-man breaks, off the rush. He looked like he was finding it. He kept us in the game."
Appearing in his first playoff game since his junior days in the WHL, Driedger, who celebrated his 27th birthday today, said although the end result wasn't ideal, the moment was very special.
"It was pretty great," said Driedger, who owned a 14-6-3 record with a .927 save percentage during the regular season. "It was my first pro playoff start, so it's been a lot of years waiting for that. It was a lot of fun. It would've been nice to win, but now we'll look to do that in Tampa."

3. PENALTY KILL BOUNCES BACK

If we're looking for positives to take into Game 3, the penalty kill is one of them.
After surrendering three power-play goals in Game 1, the Panthers went a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill tonight. Over the course of those power plays, they allowed just seven shot attempts, one scoring chance and two shots on goal, with Driedger coming up with saves on both of them.
Among forwards, Alex Wennberg led the way with 3:28 of shorthanded ice time, while Gustav Forsling skated 3:51 to pace Florida's defensemen. With Nikita Kucherov now back in action, being able to contain the Lightning's man advantage will continue to be crucial moving forward.

4. HITTING THE ROAD

After two games in Sunrise, the series will now shift across the Sunshine State.
Needing to take care of business on the road, the Panthers will battle the Lightning in Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. During their season series, the Panthers went 2-1-1 at Amalie Arena, just edging out the Lightning by a score of 16-15 in those four matchups.
"You go home and you reflect back," Quenneville said. "Then you come back tomorrow with a fresh attitude and appetite. We've got our work cut out going to Tampa. We've had success there, but we've got to play right from start to finish knowing we're getting better as we go along. Let's find a way to win a period and go from there. ... Turn the momentum as quickly as we can."
Playing great hockey away from home, the Panthers ranked tied fourth in the NHL with 17 road wins during the regular season. They also ranked second in goals per game (3.36) and second on the power play (26.3%). The Lightning, meanwhile, finished tied for third with 21 home wins.

5. GETTING BENNY BACK

Looking ahead to Game 3, the good news is the Panthers will have a key player back.
Missing tonight's matchup while serving a one-game suspension for charging Lightning forward Blake Coleman in the third period of Game 1, Sam Bennett will be set loose on Thursday, likely slotting right back into his regular spot in the center of Florida's incredibly important second line.
One of the top acquisitions at last month's trade deadline, Bennett has been playing like a man possessed ever since the Panthers picked up him in a deal with the Flames. In 10 games after the move, he notched 15 points (six goals, nine assists) to close out the regular season in style.
In Game 1, he recorded two assists, three hits and two takeaways.