5 Takeaways: 'Very Intense' Action as Panthers Drop Game 1 to Lightning

SUNRISE, Fla. - If this game was a taste of things to come, buckle up.
In a heated matchup that featured multiple lead changes, a lot of chippiness and at least a few hundred rubber rats, the Panthers came up just short in 5-4 loss to the Lightning in the opening game of the first-ever playoff series between the two in-state rivals at BB&T Center on Sunday.

"A very intense game," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "There was a lot going on out there. Their power play was the difference tonight, and 5-on-5 we were OK. … There's [some] things we can take from that game to learn from and improve. It was a heck of a hockey game."
With a sellout crowd of 9,646 fans cheering on their every move, the Panthers came out flying against the Lightning. Establishing their home-ice advantage right from the get-go, they were winning battles along the boards, chasing down loose pucks and hitting everything that moved.
"It was unbelievable," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said of the atmosphere at the arena, which doubled its capacity to roughly 50% for the playoffs. "I got goosebumps before the game."
Taking that momentum onto the power play, the Panthers then appeared to break the ice just 7:34 after the puck had dropped, but their goal was taken off the board after officials deemed that Sam Bennett had made contact with Andrei Vasilevskiy while poking the puck into the net.
From almost to trailing to suddenly leading, the Lightning then drew first blood when, following a faceoff win the neutral zone, Blake Coleman received a pass, skated straight down the slot and roofed a backhand shot over Sergei Bobrovsky to make it a 1-0 game at 7:42 of the first period.
But with the home crowd as loud as ever, the Cats didn't get deflated.
With the Panthers sent back to the man advantage, Barkov took a set-up pass from Jonathan Huberdeau and hammered home a one-timer from the top of the right circle to get the game all tied up 1-1 at 9:41. Later in the frame, Barkov was then the one handing out the helper, setting up Carter Verhaeghe for a blast from the high slot that beat Vasilevsky to make it 2-1 at 16:31.
"We started pretty well," Barkov said. "We were excited to get going. We got the result we wanted in the first period. Obviously after that we kind of stopped playing the same way, took a couple penalties in the second period. I'm really happy with the first period. That's the way you want to try and play the whole game."
Getting the game deadlocked once more, Nikita Kucherov, who was sidelined for the entirety of the regular season after undergoing offseason hip surgery, made his mark in his first game back when he buried a fiery one-timer on the power play to make it 2-2 at 4:58 of the second period.
Finding the back of the net again later in the period, and also looking surprisingly fresh for being on the mend for so long, Kucherov then put the Lightning back on top when he one-timed a dish from Victor Hedman past Bobrovsky and into the net on the power play to make it 3-2 at 14:51.
In the third period, the Panthers pounced thanks to some ferocious play from their second line.
Sent up ice on a breakaway on a smooth pass from Bennett, Huberdeau skated in all alone on Vasilevskiy. With no one to beat but the former Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender, he then slipped the puck through his five-hole and across the goal line to make it a 3-3 contest at 1:27.
A little under three minutes later, Huberdeau then showed off his all-word passing when he cut through the slot with a defender in tow before turning around in a flash to set up Owen Tippett for a surefire tap-in goal from the left side of the net to send the Panthers ahead 4-3 at 4:09.
Netting their third goal with the extra attacker, the Lightning then pulled even with the Panthers once again when Kucherov deftly faked a one-timer to pull Bobrovsky a bit out of position before sending a quick pass to Brayden Point, who then scored from the slot to make it 4-4 at 13:00.
Winning the special teams battle, Tampa Bay went 3-for-4 on the power play, while Florida went 1-for-3.
From there, the action would continue to heat up as the game came down to the wire. But with 1:14 left on the clock, it was the Lightning struck the last blow when Point slipped a shot through Bobrovsky's five-hole on a breakaway to lock in an eventual 5-4 win in Game 1 of the series.
Between the pipes, Vasilevskiy and Bobrovsky both finished with 35 saves.
"I thought we played well after 4-4, and then they made a nice play," Quenneville said. "That was the difference. There's a lot of good things out there. … I think the games we got beat by them this year there, there was a frustration knowing that you think you deserve better. But that's the difference between teams that know how to win. We're looking to get educated."
Looking ahead, the Panthers and Lightning will reconvene for Game 2 on Tuesday.
"We've [moved on] already," Barkov said of tonight's hard-fought defeat. "I know it sucks, but it happened. Now we've got to concentrate on next game. We had some good momentum in the game, but have got to learn how to defend a little better. Other than that, I liked our effort."
Here are five takeaways from Sunday's loss in Sunrise…

1. SASHA SETS THE TONE

You always hear how Barkov leads by example.
Tonight, fans got to see that sentiment firsthand.
Pulling the Panthers back up after they saw a potential one-goal lead transform into a one-goal deficit within the span of less than a minute, Barkov teed-up a pass and beat Vasilevskiy with a heavy one-timer from the top of the right circle to make it a 1-1 game at 9:41 of the first period.

"It's a long series," Barkov said. "You have to win four games, so anything can happen. Every game is different. Obviously, tomorrow we've got to find a way how to get better at some spots in our game. We know 5-on-5 we played well, so we've just got to keep getting better at that."
Leading the Panthers with 26 goals during the regular season, Barkov's knack lighting the lamp has clearly carried over into the playoffs. Dating back to April 20, the 25-year-old pivot has now scored nine goals over his last 11 games, including netting his fourth-career playoff goal tonight.

2. VERHAEGHE FINDS TWINE

Verhaeghe won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning last season.
But his first-career postseason goal came in a Panthers sweater.
Winding up for a big blast, Verhaeghe received a pass from Barkov and let loose a sizzling one-timer from the high slot that screamed through a bit of light traffic past Vasilevskiy and into the twine to give the Panthers their first lead of the game and make it 2-1 at 16:31 of the first period.

"[Barkov] made an awesome pass," Verhaeghe said. "I just tried to shoot it as hard as I could."
Finishing tied for third on the Panthers with 18 goals during the regular season, Verhaeghe has only been back in action for two games after sitting out 13 due to a lower-body injury. In those games, however, he's been electric, potting goal in each of them while showing no signs of rust.

3. ACCIARI LAYS IT ALL ON THE LINE

This will only show up on the scoresheet as a blocked shot, but it was much bigger than that.
With the game tied 2-2 in the second period, Noel Acciari put his body on the line to make sure things would stay that was for the time being. In one of the more selfless plays you'll ever see, the hard-nosed center was thrust into the role of goaltender after Bobrovsky was pulled away.
Realizing what he had to do in a split second, Acciari turned around, made himself as big as possible and blocked a point-blank shot from Erik Cernak to keep the Lightning off the board.

"I was just trying to take up [as much of the net] as possible," Acciari said.
In addition to his block, Acciari also finished second on the Panthers with six hits against the Lightning, trailing only Radko Gudas's 11 hits - most of which could be felt from the press box.

4. HUBERDEAU TAKES OVER

Huberdeau took his game to another level in the third period.
Just a few minutes before dishing out a highlight-reel pass, the 27-year-old forward brought fans to their feet and pulled the Panthers into a 3-3 tie with the Lightning when he craftily slipped a deceiving shot through Vasilevskiy's five-hole on a breakaway just 1:27 into the final frame.

"He was great," Quenneville said. "That line was dangerous."
Leading the Panthers in scoring for the second straight season, Huberdeau tallied 61 points (20 goals, 41 assists) during the 2020-21 campaign. Picking up right where he left off, he produced a team-leading three points (one goal, two assists) and five shots against the Lightning tonight.

5. TIPPETT NETS NO. 1

The bright lights didn't affect this rookie one bit.
Skating in the first-ever playoff game of his career, Tippett racked up a pair of points tonight, including sending a stunning feed from Huberdeau past Vasilevsky from right on the doorstep to the left of the crease to light the lamp and put the Panthers on top 4-3 at 4:09 of the third period.

"It felt good," Tippett said of pocketing his first playoff goal in the NHL. "The goal is still the same, I'm just going to do whatever I can to help the team win. Huby made a great pass."
Earning a promotion to Florida's second line late in the season, Tippett, who's still only 22, recorded 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 45 games during the regular season. In his playoff debut, he needed just 9:10 of ice time to make his mark and pick up two key points.
"He didn't play a lot, but I thought he had an impact on the game," Quenneville said. "I thought he had a lot of plays with possession off the rush or up the rink. Around the net, he had some plays. Huby had possession a lot. There were some dangerous looks with him and Benny."