NHL playoffs: Lightning-Panthers Game 1 live updates (2024)

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Carter Verhaeghe’s power-play goal early in the third period put the Florida Panthers ahead to stay in a 3-2 victory over the Lightning in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Sunday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.

The Panthers will take a 1-0 lead into Game 2 of the best-of-seven series Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Sunrise.

Florida’s Sam Reinhart opened the scoring just over six minutes into the game, tipping a Gustav Forsling wrist shot from the left point past Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The Lightning’s Brandon Hagel tied the score about 10 minutes later, scoring from the slot on a rebound of an Anthony Cirelli shot from low in the right circle after Steven Stamkos put a shot on net off the faceoff.

Verhaeghe put the Panthers back ahead with a power-play goal 58 seconds into the third period with Nick Paul in the box for holding Anton Lundell late in the second. The former Lightning forward scored from the left post off a cross-crease pass from Aleksander Barkov from the right circle.

With Vasilevskiy pulled for an extra attacker, the Panthers took a two-goal lead when Matthew Tkachuk scored into an empty net with just over two minutes left to play. The puck ricocheted off the stanchion in the Tampa Bay zone to a wide-open Tkachuk at center ice.

The Lightning got a break of their own when Verhaeghe was penalized for cross-checking Nikita Kucherov with 1:11 remaining. Tampa Bay again pulled Vasilevskiy, giving it a 6-on-4 advantage.

The gamble paid off when Stamkos scored from low in the left circle off a cross-ice feed from Kucherov, bringing the Lightning back to within 3-2 with 9.3 seconds remaining.

Paul won the ensuing faceoff against Reinhart, but Tampa Bay was unable to get off another shot.

Here’s how it happened.

Third period

Panthers will begin period with 1:37 remaining on power play from Nick Paul penalty

Lightning win opening faceoff and send the puck back into the Panthers zone

Matthew Tkachuk wrist shot saved by Andrei Vasilevskiy and Anthony Cirelli clears the rebound

PANTHERS GOAL: Carter Verhaeghe scores from the left post off a cross-crease pass from Aleksander Barkov from the right circle. Panthers 2, Lightning 1 (19:02 left in period)

Vasilevskiy stops Lundell shot from low in the left circle

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Erik Cernak shot from the point bounces past Anthony Duclair

Vasilevskiy makes a save on Sam Bennett shot from the slot after Cernak lays out to stretch out the play

Vasilevskiy stops Barkov wrist shot

Vailevskiy makes glove save on Niko Mikkola slap shot from left point

Paul drives to the net but can’t get a shot away

Mitchell Chaffee turnaround shot from bad angle saved by Bobrovsky

Eyssimont just misses on backhand feed for Chaffee to left of Panthers net

Steven Stamkos quick shot hits Anthony Duclair

Victor Hedman shot from left point goes wide

Bobrovsky makes right pad save on Brayden Point shot from high slot

Dumba blast from right point partially blocked by Vladimir Tarasenko

Carter Verhaeghe hits Erik Cernak hard into the boards in the Lightning zone

Brandon Montour drive from right point blocked by Tyler Motte

Bobrovsky stops Point from the slot after diagonal pass from Emil Lilleberg

Brandon Hagel shot from right circle goes wide

Lightning pull Vasilevskiy with 3:08 remaining, giving them an extra attacker

Panthers clear the puck out of the zone

Gustav Forsling clears the puck down the ice

Bobrovsky makes save on Stamkos shot from left circle

PANTHERS GOAL: Matthew Tkachuk scores into an empty net after puck comes to him off the stanchion at center ice. Panthers 3, Lightning 1 (2:05 left)

Lightning power play: Carter Verhaeghe penalized with 1:11 remaining. Lightning pull Vasilevskiy, giving them a 6-on-4 advantage

Bobrovsky makes save on Point shot from the slot

Barkov gets the puck out to center ice

Kucherov shot from right circle goes off Bobrovsky’s helmet

LIGHTNING GOAL! Stamkos scores from low in left circle off a cross-ice feed from Kucherov with 9.3 seconds remaining. Panthers 3, Lightning 2 (9.3 seconds left)

Paul wins faceoff against Sam Reinhart

End of period

(Panthers win 3-2, lead series 1-0)

Second period

Brandon Hagel snapshot from left circle deflected high

Nikita Kucherov pass for Darren Raddysh puts the Lightning offsides

Andrei Vasilevskiy bats high shot back behind his net

Ryan Lomberg and Victor Hedman exchange big hits

Gustav Forsling snapshot goes wide

Nick Perbix blocks Alexsander Barkov chance from in close

Vasilevskiy saves Sam Bennett shot from left side boards

Bennett tip in front goes off his skate and out of play

Matt Dumba drives Nick Cousins into the right side boards

Dumba cuts off Vladimir Tarasenko as he drives to the net

Panthers go on power play as Steven Stamkos called for hooking Sam Bennett (12:10 left in period)

Matthew Tkachuck throws puck in front, but Andrei Vasilevskiy knocks it out of the way

Tkachuk wrist shot from right side goes high over the crossbar

Brandon Montour shot from point goes wide

Montour blast from center point saved by Vasilevskiy

Brandon Hagel blocks a shot and Emil Lilleberg clears puck out of the zone

Lightning kill the Stamkos penalty

Kucherov wrist shot from right circle goes wide

Kucherov wrist shot stopped by Bobrovsky

Lightning ice the puck

Oliver Ekman-Larsson wrist shot saved by Vasilevskiy

Lightning get their first power play as Anton Lundell penalized for tripping Emil Lilleberg (6:30 left)

Bobrovsky makes blocker save on Hedman shot from center point

Eetu Luostarinen clears the puck out of the Panthers zone

Panthers twice again clear the puck down the ice

Panthers kill the Lundell penalty

Matt Dumba with a big hit on Kevin Stenlund in the Lightning zone

Luostarinen hits Dumba seemingly in retaliation for hit on Stenlund

Stenlund dumps Nikita Kucherov behind the play

Ekman-Larsson shot from left side boards deflected high

Panthers power play: Nick Paul penalized for holding Lundell behind Panthers net (24 seconds left)

End of period

(Lightning 1, Panthers 1 after two periods)

First period

Brandon Montour shot from right point tipped wide

Anthony Duclair’s pass for Darren Raddysh leaves the offensive zone

Mikey Eyssimont leaves his helmet after being hit hard by Dmitry Kulikov behind the Panthers net

Matt Dumba upended by Eetu Luostarinen along side boards in offensive zone

Aaron Ekblad drive from right point goes wide

Nikita Kucherov turnover leads to Sam Reinhart wrist shot that Andrei Vasilevskiy turns away

Oliver Ekman-Larsson shot from point tipped wide of the net

PANTHERS GOAL: Gustav Forsling wrist shot from left point tipped in by Sam Reinhart in front, Panthers 1, Lightning 0 (13:43 left in period)

Panthers get their first power play, as Nick Perbix is penalized for holding Anton Lundell (11:44 left)

Aleksander Barkov just misses connecting with Matthew Tkachuk for tip in front

Carter Verhaeghe wrist shot from left point stopped by Vasilevskiy

Nick Paul clears the puck out of the Lightning zone

Lightning clear the puck out of their zone three more times

Lightning kill the Perbix penalty

Lundell tip attempt goes wide

Barkov cut off by Brayden Point in the slot

Sam Bennett drives to the net but can’t get a shot off

Vasilevskiy stops wrist shots from Tkachuk and Verhaeghe in tight despite losing his stick

Forsling shot from left point blocked in front

Victor Hedman shot tipped wide by Nikita Kucherov

Vasilevskiy makes a kick save on an Evan Rodrigues shot from the slot

Sergei Bobrovsky stops bad-angle shot from Eyssimont with Mitchell Chafee battling in front

LIGHTNING GOAL! Brandon Hagel scores from the slot on a rebound of an Anthony Cirelli shot from low in the right circle after Steven Stamkos puts a shot on net off the faceoff. Lightning 1, Panthers (3:56 left)

Perbix shot saved by Bobrovsky, who does not allow a rebound

Quick shot from Cirelli gloved and held by Bobrovsky

Hedman wrist shot from center point saved by Bobrovsky

Eyssimont breaks in alone on Bobrovsky but shoots high up over the net

End of period

(Lightning 1, Panthers 1 after one period)

The wait is over

It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?

Relatively speaking, of course. “Long” would mean an entirely different thing to the Buffalo Sabres, who recently extended their postseason drought to an NHL-record 13 seasons.

Still, for this team and this fan base, it’s been a while since the Lightning played in a playoff game. Almost exactly a year, in fact, since they were eliminated by the Maple Leafs in Game 6 of last season’s opening round.

NHL postseasons around here typically stretch into June, as the Lightning have advanced to the Eastern Conference final six times in the past nine seasons, winning four, and the Stanley Cup final four times, winning two.

Last season marked the first time the Lightning did not reach the Cup final in four seasons, as they won back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021 and lost to the Avalanche in 2022.

Instead, the Panthers went all the way to the Cup final despite entering the playoffs as a wild-card qualifier. Florida fell to Vegas in the final, preventing the Panthers from becoming the first wild card to win the Cup.

Which is exactly what the Lightning hope to do this season after earning the top wild-card spot in the East.

The road starts in Sunrise, where Tampa Bay will open a first-round series against Atlantic Division-winning Florida this afternoon at Amerant Bank Arena.

The cross-state rivals are familiar playoff foes, meeting for the third time in four seasons. Tampa Bay has had Florida’s number to this point, eliminating the Panthers in six games in the first round in 2021 and sweeping them from the second round in 2022.

Florida, however, has had the upper hand so far this season, winning two of the three regular-season meetings.

Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov is a top Hart Trophy candidate after leading the NHL in scoring with 144 points this season, earning his second Art Ross Trophy. One of only three players in NHL history with 100 or more assists and 40 or more goals in the same season, he had a hand in more than 50% of Tampa Bay’s goals.

Steven Stamkos scored 40 goals for the seventh time in his career, Brayden Point reached 90 points for the second consecutive season, and the Lightning bolstered their ranks with the additions of forward Anthony Duclair and defenseman Matt Dumba at the trade deadline.

Florida, meanwhile, had four players — Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe — accumulate between 72 and 94 points this season. Reinhart scored a career-high 57 goals, second in the league behind Toronto’s Auston Matthews (69), including an NHL-best 27 on the power play.

The Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy is the most dominant postseason goaltender of his generation, leading his team to three Stanley Cup finals, two Cups and receiving the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after Tampa Bay won the second of its back-to-back championships in 2021.

The Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner (2013 and 2017) who is coming off one of the best seasons of his 14-year career, with a 36-17-4 record, 2.37 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. He played a significant role in ousting the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Lightning from the first round of the 2019 playoffs, when he manned the net for the Blue Jackets.

Something to keep an eye on throughout the series: The Panthers were second in the league in penalty minutes this season, with 1,106, while the Lightning had the league’s best power play at 28.6%.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

The lineups

Game day scene

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