SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers are moving on.
Securing a gentleman’s sweep of their cross-state rival, the Panthers punched their ticket to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a massive 6-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.
“To be a part of this team and hear the crowd, this is a big series for us,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “We always knew that for us to ultimately win it all it’s probably going to have to go through Tampa at some point. Just an amazing feeling closing it out.”
In Round 2, the Panthers will face the winner of the first-round series between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins currently hold a commanding 3-1 lead in the series and can secure a rematch with the Panthers in Round 2 with a win in Game 5 on Tuesday.
During their run to last year’s Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers upset the Bruins in Round 1.
“We’re probably going to be playing our next-biggest rival [next round], so there will not be an emotional letdown,” Tkachuk said when asked about preparing for the next challenge.
Before we look ahead to Round 2, let’s first take one last look back at Round 1.
Continue below to find some key numbers that helped the Panthers finally take down Tampa Bay.
0: The number of even-strength goals scored when Kevin Stenlund was on the ice against the Lightning. Among the players that suited up in all five games in Round 1 for the Panthers, Stenlund was the only player to escape unscathed over 49:12 of ice time.
1.3: Goals saved above expected for Sergei Bobrovsky. Capping off the series with a 31-save performance in Game 5, the Vezina Trophy finalist, at the time of this writing, is sixth among all goalies in the playoffs in goals saved above expected. Cue the “Bob-by!” chants.
2: The number of goals scored by the Lightning when Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling were deployed at 5-on-5. Florida’s top pair was up to the task in Round 1 as the Lightning managed to only strike twice over 78:33 of ice time at 5-on-5 against them in the series.
3: The number of consecutive trips to Round 2 of the playoffs for the Panthers. As Florence and the Machine once sang, “the dog days are over!” No longer worried about lottery balls, the Panthers are now a perennial contender. The best news? Their window is just opening.
4: The number of games the Panthers won when scoring first. The team that broke the ice won every game during Round 1. The only time the Lightning managed to open the scoring was during their sudden three-goal outburst in the first period of Game 4 at Amalie Arena.