TAMPA – The Florida Panthers will try to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference First Round when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 3 at Amalie Arena on Thursday.
“Just keep doing what we do,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Our game doesn’t change whether we’re at home or on the road. It’s all about hard work. We want to bring the same effort and everything we had in the first two games into this game.”
Taking care of business at home, the Panthers followed up a 3-2 win in Game 1 on Saturday with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 2 on Tuesday, a thrilling battle highlighted by an all-time great save from Sergei Bobrovsky and another clutch goal from Carter Verhaeghe in the extra frame.
Coming out hot, Florida surrendered just seven combined first-period shots in those wins.
“It’s been tight games, the first two,” Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola said. “It’s the first road [game], so they’re going to come out hard probably. We just need to set the tone early.”
While the Panthers certainly enjoyed their home-ice advantage, they’ve also done an outstanding job of making themselves feel right at home on the road in recent history.
After sneaking into the playoffs by just a point last season, their unforgettable run to the Stanley Cup Final was built on success in road games as they went 8-1 in Rounds 1-3.
Carrying that confidence into this season, the Panthers finished tied for first in the NHL with a franchise-record 26 road wins in 2023-24. They also ranked first in goals allowed (2.27), fifth in goals scored (3.37) and first on the penalty kill (86.9%) on the road.
“If you’ve got a team that will talk on the bench, then you’ve got a chance to win on the road,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “I think it’s a really important thing. If they’re into games and the crowd’s loud and the other team gets its 10 minutes and the guys are still talking on the bench, you’re in the game. You’re fine. They don’t get quiet.”
Through the first two games of the series, both goaltenders have been outstanding.
Bobrovsky currently boasts a 1.95 goals-against average with a .905 save percentage, while Andrei Vasilevskiy is sitting on a 2.49 goal-against average with a .922 save percentage. Per MoneyPuck.com, Bobrovsky has 2.2 goals saved above expected, while Vasilevskiy has 3.8.
During last year’s playoffs, Bobrovsky boasted a .920 road save percentage.
“The Bobby save last game, I’ve never seen a save like that before,” Mikkola said. “In the other end, Vasilevskiy is playing good, too. It’s hard to score goals. We just need to be patient and put the puck on the net.”
With second-line center Sam Bennett expected to miss “at least a week” with an upper-body injury he suffered in the second period of Game 2, the Panthers will turn to third-year pro Anton Lundell to take his spot in between Matthew Tkachuk and Verhaeghe in Game 3.
Over the 6:28 of ice time Lundell spent in that spot in Game 2, the Panthers led 13-3 in shot attempts and 6-0 in shots on goal, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. Lundell, a first-round pick in 2020, also had the primary assist on Verhaeghe’s game-winning goal in overtime.
Even though he’s still just 22, Lundell already has 32 career playoff games under his belt.
“Lundy, he can do it all,” Barkov said. “I know he’s still a young player, but ever since he came to the league, you would think he’s not that young. He has that maturity in his game. He takes care of his own zone first and then offensively. He’s a highly skilled player. He’s been unreal for us every year.”
With Bennett out for at least the next two games and Ryan Lomberg, who missed Game 2, still dealing with an illness, Kyle Okposo will suit up in Game 3. Acquired by Florida at the trade deadline, the 36-year-old veteran is getting his first taste of the playoffs since 2016.
“He’s got this kind of smile I can’t describe,” Maurice said of Okposo, who’s skated in over 1,000 career regular-season NHL games. “He’s very excited about getting in the game. He will relish this opportunity. A serious pro. A very detailed guy. He’s going to be all wired in for the game.”
Across the ice, not much is known about how the Lightning will look in Game 3 other than head coach Jon Cooper telling Tampa Bay reporter Chris Krenn that everyone is available.
With that, we’ll have to wait until warmups to see their lineup.
CATS PLAYOFF LEADERS
Goals: Verhaeghe (2)
Assists: Barkov, Tkachuk (2)
Points: Tkachuk, Verhaeghe (3)
BOLTS PLAYOFF LEADERS
Goals: Stamkos (2)
Assists: Kucherov, Hedman (2)
Points: Stamkos (3)
THEY SAID IT
“We want to be as ready as possible and play as good as possible. That’s our game. We want to keep it simple, play hard, get on them really quick and play offensively. Yeah, keep doing that.” – Aleksander Barkov
“You’ll hear the crowd loud here also. It’s nice when you hit somebody and they don’t like it. If I take a hit, I don’t mind if they cheer for it. It’s a nice feeling when it’s loud. It’s going to be loud everywhere.” – Niko Mikkola
“As I don’t feel anything is true about momentum, I feel the same about home and road. I don’t feel necessarily advantages to either. There’s a set of circumstances, and circumstances change. They’re either going to be good for you or bad for you depending on how you handle it.” – Paul Maurice
CATS STATS
- The Panthers have won 11 straight overtime games in the playoffs.
- Ten different Panthers have recorded at least one point through Games 1 and 2.
- Evan Rodrigues has recorded a team-high 12 hits in the playoffs.
- The Panthers are winning 55.4% of their faceoffs through Games 1 and 2.
- Vladimir Tarasenko is expected to skate in his 100th career playoff game.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Vladimir Tarasenko – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Anton Lundell – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Kevin Stenlund – Evan Rodrigues
Nick Cousins – Steven Lorentz – Kyle Okposo
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- April 12: F Wilmer Skoog signed to a one-year, two-way contract commencing in 2024-25
- April 12: F Oliver Okuliar signed to a one-year ELC commencing in 2024-25
- April 10: D Mikulas Hovorka signed to a two-year ELC commencing in 2024-25
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amalie Arena - Tampa, FL
TV & Streaming: TBS, MAX, Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Watch Party: Funky Buddha
