After taking an early 1-0 lead on a goal from Anthony Duclair, the Panthers got into penalty trouble and allowed four straight goals in a 4-1 loss to the Lightning in Game 1 on Tuesday.
On the power play late in the second period, Corey Perry collected a cross-ice feed from Nikita Kucherov and touched the twine make it 1-1. In the third, the Lightning then added three more goals - including two more strikes on the man advantage - to go up 1-0 in the best-of-7 series.
Scoring at least one power-play goal in six of their last eight games, the Lightning lead the playoffs in power-play goals with 10. In order to take that weapon off the table, the Panthers, who sent Tampa Bay to six power plays in Game 1, know they need to stay out of the box.
"Just be a little careful with the sticks," Panthers interim head coach Adnrew Brunette said. "You know what they do. They're a veteran team that's been in these kinds of situations. They sell it pretty good, and we just have to be aware of that and maybe sell it ourselves a little bit."
As for their own power play, the Panthers, who ranked tied for fifth in the NHL on the man advantage during the regular season at 24.4%, are looking for their first goal of the playoffs.
"We've got to stick with it," Duclair said of the power play, which has 32 scoring chances over the last seven games. "We've got so much talent, so much depth on our power play, a lot of guys that can shoot the puck. If we keep shooting and getting traffic on net, it's going to go in."
When both sides were even in Game 1, the Panthers looked to be in control.
In addition to leading 41-31 in shot attempts and 23-16 in scoring chances at 5-on-5 action against the Bolts, the Panthers, most importantly, allowed just one non-special teams goal.
Between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky, who has been "Mr. Big Saves" for Florida throughout the playoffs, made 32 saves, including stopping 20 of 21 shots at even strength. In the opposing cage, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 34 of 35 shots, but only had to make six high-danger saves.
Going through the checklist of what they'd like to accomplish in order to come out on top in Game 2, the consensus among Panthers players boils down to three key points: taking less penalties, converting on the power play, and getting much more traffic in front of Vasilevskiy.
"They're a good team," Panthers forward Claude Giroux said of Tampa Bay. "They play well. They play very structured. They're responsible in their game. For us, we're ready for Game 2 here. We always find a way to not make it easy on us. In front of our fans here tonight, we've got to come back playing our best game, and I think that we will."
With neither team at full strength, the Lightning will be without Brayden Point, who has four points (two goals, two assists) in the playoffs, for the second straight game, while Mason Marchment, who has yet to suit up in the postseason, is expected to remain out for the Cats.
Additionally, Carter Verhaeghe, who leads the Panthers in scoring during the playoffs with 12 points (six goals, six assists), is a game-time decision. Also labeled as a game-time decision before scoring the game-winning goal in Game 6 at Washington, Brunette said that Verhaeghe, who briefly took part in this morning's skate, is dealing with "the bumps and bruises of playoff hockey" right now.
If Verhaeghe is unable to play, Maxim Main is expected to take his place in the lineup.
Receiving a well-deserved honor prior to tonight's tilt, Brunette was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award this morning after guiding the Cats to an historic regular season in which they set new franchise records for wins (58), home wins (34), road wins (24), points (122), and goals (340).
"Everybody respects him in the locker room," Giroux said. "Guys love to play for him. … He listens to players and wants to know what players think. He wants everyone on the same page."
While he certainly appreciates the honor, Brunette, who joins New York's Gerard Gallant and Calgary's Darryl Sutter as finalists, said his only thoughts right now are on winning Game 2.
"It's an incredible honor," Brunette said. "For me personally, as corny as it sounds, I've been in this job since the end of October, and it's a day-to-day thing. I'm just trying to win a hockey game today. It's an incredible honor to be in same breath as Jack Adams, even as a nomination. With Darryl and Gerard, that's two of the best of all-time. To even be in that group is humbling."
