Sunday’s series opener between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning was a tale of two games. There was the first 15 minutes — a one-sided start that saw Florida own pretty much every area of the ice — and then there was the 45 that followed, which welcomed Tampa Bay into the fray.
And based on the latter, we’ve got ourselves quite the series ahead.
While Florida’s 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon was well contested, with the action going right down to the wire, you could argue that it was those first 15 minutes that made all the difference.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said as much post-game.
“They’re at home. It’s Game 1. Crowd’s pumped up. They had all this energy. Give them tons of credit — they went into a game plan, and we abandoned ours before it even started,” he told reporters. “(We) weathered the storm for 12, 13 minutes, or whatever it was, and then we played. And that’s the problem.”
Cooper pointed to the miniscule margin of error that comes with post-season hockey. As cliché as it is to say that every minute counts, it really does. While the Panthers played a full 60 minutes, Cooper said everything his team did was in “a 45-minute game” that followed.
“They got the lead in that first 15 minutes, and then we played,” said Cooper. “I’ll take our chances if we can play like we did in the last part.”
The Panthers dominated the first frame, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it by looking at the score. After Sam Reinhart got Florida on the board just over six minutes into the period, Tampa Bay’s offence woke up in time for Brandon Hagel to tie things up 10 minutes later. A scoreless, tight-checking gridlock of a second period gave way to a goal early in the third as perennial playoff performer Carter Verhaeghe gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
Another NHL cliché: there’s no time for second-guessing in the post-season. That includes all the ‘what ifs’ that arise following Cooper’s decision to pull Andrei Vasilevskiy with three minutes remaining in what was a 2-1 game to prompt a final push from the Lightning.
Matthew Tkachuk scored an empty-net insurance marker with two minutes remaining in the game, which wound up being the game-winner after Lightning captain Steven Stamkos cut Florida’s two-goal lead in half with a power-play marker with just eight seconds to go in regulation.
Too little too late from the Lightning, but still strong enough to send a message ahead of their next meeting on Tuesday night.
Panthers’ power play shows signs of life
The Florida Panthers finished the regular season with the NHL’s eighth-ranked power play (operating at 23.5 per cent), but that doesn’t tell the whole story. As strong as the club has been all year, including during their late-season bid for the division’s top spot, their power-play unit struggled down the stretch, scoring just four goals on 51 opportunities over the final 16 games of the season. And considering they’re matching up against a Tampa Bay team boasting the best PP in the league and a penalty kill that’s almost just as powerful, special teams were expected to factor into this series in a big way.
And early in the third period, they finally did, with Florida’s PP showing signs of life. Less than a minute into the third frame, with Lightning forward Nick Paul opening the period in the penalty box after earning a minor holding call late in the second, Verhaeghe broke a 1-1 tie with the man advantage.
Unfortunately for Verhaeghe, it wasn’t the only power-play goal he factored into — the Panthers forward was called for cross-checking late in regulation, with Lightning captain Steven Stamkos reminding everyone in the Sunshine State just how lethal Tampa Bay’s PP unit is.
All told, Florida went one-for-three on the power play while Tampa Bay made good on one of two opportunities.
Rempe brings boost of energy as Rangers top Capitals
With every punch thrown during his early days in New York this season, 21-year-old Matt Rempe solidified his standing as an instant fan favourite, with many pointing to his physical game as the missing piece on a Rangers squad boasting more skill than sandpaper.
Still, despite a solid following among Rangers faithful, his spot in the lineup heading into Game 1 of New York’s first-round series against the Washington Capitals was far from a sure thing.
It’s a safe bet we’ll see him again in Game 2, however, thanks to his series-opening goal in his post-season debut Sunday afternoon, which sparked a three-goal surge in the second period to send the matchup from scoreless to lop-sided in just a few shifts. He brought the energy to his intermission interview, too, all smiles as he reflected on the “unreal” moment:
Rempe wasn’t the only fourth liner to contribute on offence in New York’s eventual 4-1 victory. Less than two minutes after Artemi Panarin made the score 2-0, Jimmy Vesey got in on the action, showing everyone that while the Rangers’ superstars are always dangerous, it’s the club’s depth that might just prove to be the difference.
Shesterkin’s sensational streak continues
Of course, as much as the fourth line shone Sunday against Washington, the Rangers’ win also featured the usual suspects doing what they do best.
No Rangers playoff victory is complete without a goal from Playoff Chris Kreider, who at this point is just padding his franchise record for most post-season markers. Expect that number to keep growing.
And then there’s the man in the blue paint, Igor Shesterkin, whose 20 saves in the victory continued an impressive streak on home ice: Sunday marked his 10th straight home playoff game in which he’s allowed just two or fewer goals.
Ovechkin held without a shot as Capitals’ offensive struggles continue
Save for a lone goal scored by defenceman Martin Fehervary, the Capitals couldn’t muster up much at all against the Rangers. That’s not a huge surprise, considering Washington’s well-documented offensive struggles all season long, making its sprint to the post-season all the more impressive.
This, however, is a surprise: Of the 21 shots Shesterkin faced, none came off the stick of No. 8.
Alex Ovechkin was held without a single shot on goal in a playoff game for just the fourth time in his career. You have to go back to 2018, a game against Pittsburgh, to find the last time he finished a post-season game without firing a puck on net.
