The Florida Panthers may have just surprised much of the hockey world.
Starting their first round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road, the Panthers picked up a pair of big victories following Thursday’s 2-0 win in Game 2.
Similarly to Game 1 on Tuesday, it didn’t take long for the Panthers to open the scoring.
Shortly after killing off an early Tampa Bay power play, Nate Schmidt hammered a one-timer from Sam Reinhart right off an offensive zone draw that gave the Cats a 1-0 lead.
That’s how the score would remain through the first two periods due to some strong goaltending on both ends.
Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky made 16 saves through 40 minutes, including stops on all three of Tampa’s high danger shots.
Midway through the third period, with Tampa Bay on the power play, Branden Hagel laid a high hit on Sasha Barkov that was called a five-minute major for interference.
Barkov skated off the ice on his own but went straight to the Panthers dressing room.
Led by Bobrovsky, who finished with 19 saves, the Panthers held strong on the defensive end and shut out the Bolts on their own ice.
Sam Bennett added an empty-net goal with 2.9 seconds left for good measure as the Cats took a 2-0 series lead heading back to Sunrise.
On to Game 3.
QUICK THOUGHTS
Schmidt has already tied his career high for playoff goals in a single postseason with three.
Sasha Barkov is up to three assists in the series after getting a helper on Schmidt’s goal.
Florida finished 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
Sam Reinhart has three points in the series. He had the primary assist on Schmidt’s goal.
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