5 Takeaways: 'Short Memory' Key for Panthers After Game 4 Loss to Tampa

By the time you read this, the Panthers will have already put this game behind them.
Falling behind 3-1 in their best-of-seven playoff series, the Panthers fell behind early and simply couldn't recover during a 6-2 loss to the rival Lightning in Game 4 at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
Looking to stay alive in Game 5 on Monday, the series will now shift back to Sunrise.

"I think any time you get behind in the playoffs you need a short memory," Panthers defenseman Anton Stralman said. "That's what it's about. You put this game behind you, and you go on to the next one. This series is not over, obviously. We're looking forward to coming back home."
As it has been all series, the team that struck first ended up with the win.
With the action moving to 4-on-4 following a pair of roughing minors, Anthony Cirelli took full advantage of the open ice when, catching the Panthers in a change, he flew up ice and beat Sergei Bobrovsky on a breakaway to put the Lightning on top 1-0 at 3:00 of the first period.
At 7:24, Yanni Gourde then doubled Tampa Bay's advantage when he stuck out his stick and tipped a shot from just outside the crease into the back of the net to make it 2-0. Losing his cool between the whistles a little bit later, Gourde then went to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct.
On the ensuing power play, the Panthers, who deployed five forwards on their top unit, got on the board when Jonathan Huberdeau jumped on a long rebound and fired a shot from the left circle past a diving Andrei Vasilevskiy and into the exposed net to make it a 2-1 game at 8:49.
But with 3:15 left in the opening stanza, the Lightning had another bounce go their way when Ondrej Palat re-directed a shot from Erik Cernak past Bobrovsky from the slot to make it 3-1.
"You never want to give up any goals, especially at that time of the game," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. "First of all, we don't want them to get the 3-1 lead either. I think we deserved better than that from the first period, but obviously they scored the goals."
Piling it on in the second period, Alex Killorn then extended Tampa Bay's lead to 4-1 on the power play when he re-directed a centering feed form Nikita Kucherov into the net from on top of the crease at 5:41. Back at it soon after, Killorn then scored on a wrister to make it 5-1 at 7:15.
Following that goal, Chris Driedger replaced Bobrovsky in Florida's net.
"Just trying to do something different was the thought process on that," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said of making a mid-game change between the pipes. "Slow their momentum down and maybe we'll get some excitement. At that time, a four-goal lead is fairly large."
Getting one back for the Panthers, Carter Verhaeghe then received a pass from Barkov, skated into the slot and lifted backhand shot over Vasilevskiy on the power play to make it 5-2 at 18:45.
But making the Panthers pay on the power play again, the Lightning, who went 2-for-4 with the extra attacker, then padded their lead even more shortly after the puck had dropped in the third period when Kucherov buried a laser of a one-timer from the right circle to make it 6-2 at 4:47.
Even though that was the last goal in the game, the fireworks continued until the final buzzer as a lot of bad blood boiled over once again. And with just over three minutes left on the clock, a multi-player scuffle broke out, with Gourde and Cats forward Ryan Lomberg at the center of it.
Although it was still a far cry from the 156 penalty minutes the cross-state foes combined for in Game 1, the two teams totaled 92 of them in Game 4 as the series gets more and more heated.
But even with their backs now pressed up firmly against the wall, every player within the Panthers locker room remains confident in the team's ability to mount a huge comeback.
"I have all the faith in the world," Panthers forward Sam Bennett said. "I believe in this group. It's a heck of a hockey team. We're really close. We've got some unbelievable players. My belief is as high as it was at the beginning of the series. There's no issues there at all."
Here are five takeaways Saturday's loss in Tampa…

1. HUBERDEAU STAYS HOT

The points keep flowing for Huberdeau.
Netting his second goal of the postseason, Huberdeau jumped on a long rebound in the center of the left circle and threaded a shot past both a diving defender and Vasilevskiy straight into the twine to get the Panthers on the board and make it a 2-1 game at 8:49 of the opening period.

Leading the Panthers in scoring with 61 points (20 goals, 41 assists) during the regular season, Huberdeau has assumed that mantle once again in the playoffs. Ranking first on the team with eight points (two goals, six assists) through four games, he also has three multi-point games.
When he was on the ice at 5-on-5 this afternoon, Florida led 7-3 in shots on goal.

2. A FRUSTRATING FIRST

The first period was one of frustration for the Panthers.
Despite leading in shot attempts (24-11), shots on goal (15-7) and scoring chances (17-8), the Panthers entered the first intermission trailing the Lightning 3-1 on the scoreboard. Looking at Tampa Bay's goals, one came on a breakaway, while the other two were re-directions in front.
"We got a bunch of good looks, but we didn't capitalize as much as we'd want to," Barkov said.
According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the Panthers actually controlled 62.25% of the expected goals share based on their play in the first period. Unfortunately, the score going into the first intermission didn't reflect at number thanks to a few bounces and timely tips for the Lightning.
"You look at this game and you look at this score and you feel like we were out of it, but I don't think that was the feeling," Stralman said of all the close calls. "I agree that I don't think we gave up a ton of chances. The ones we do give up are just too good. They're a good team. They can put the puck in. We have to limit those chances. Especially early, it's hard to come from behind."

3. VERHAEGHE NETS ANOTHER

It didn't factor into the end result, but Verhaeghe provided a spark late in the second period.
Finding the back of the net on the power play, the former Bolt skated into the slot, pulled the puck to his backhand and roofed a shot into the cage to cut Florida's deficit down to 5-2 18:45.

Picking up a point in three of the first four games in the series, Verhaeghe now ranks fifth on the Panthers in playoff scoring with three points (one goal, two assists). During the regular season, the 25-year-old achieved career-highs in goals (18) assists (18) and points (36) in 43 games.

4. DUELING POWER PLAYS

The action was fast and furious once again on special teams this afternoon.
After going 2-for-2 on the man advantage in Game 3 on Thursday, the Panthers converted on two of their seven opportunities against the Lightning in Game 4. Over those two games, three of those four goals have come from the team's new-look top unit, which features five forwards.
Unfortunately, the Lightning's power play also continues to be lethal.
Operating at just under 50% with the extra attacker through the first four games of the series, Tampa Bay cashed in on two of its five chances this afternoon. Leading the charge, Kucherov, Killorn and Brayden Point have registered all seven of the team's power-play goals thus far.
"Their power play is extremely dangerous," Quenneville said. "Some of the looks, that's where they had the quality. They don't need much. We've got to be better on the PK. Obviously, special teams is an area where our power play has actually been pretty good. Let's be smart about it."
Sitting second among teams in the playoffs, Florida's power play is currently ticking at 33.3%.

5. VASILEVSKIY STANDS TALL

Although he's struggled - by his standards - quite a bit against the Panthers throughout this season, Vasilevskiy returned to usual brick-wall status in net during this afternoon's matchup.
Turning aside 39 of 41 shots to pick up the victory, the only two goals the former Vezina Trophy winner surrendered came when the Panthers were on the power play. Going a perfect 24-for-24 on saves at even-strength, he also stopped 13 of the 15 high-danger shots that floated his way.
"He's a good goalie and playing well, but I think we can do a little better job in front of him, putting in rebounds and stuff like that," Barkov said of Vasilevskiy, who went 2-4-0 with a .898 save percentage against Florida during the regular season. "We know how to score on him, so we just have to find a way."
As for the Panthers, Driedger stopped 11 of 12 shots after entering the game in relief of Bobrovsky, who made nine saves. Heading into a pivotal Game 5 at BB&T Center, Quenneville said the team has yet to make a final decision about which netminder will man the blue paint.
"We'll reconvene and look at options," Quenneville said.