The Lightning lose 0-2 at home to the Panthers
The Florida Panthers secured their home stadium with an overtime win on Tuesday. Now it’s up to the Tampa Bay Lightning to try and get results.
The Eastern Conference’s best-of-three playoff series will be in Tampa for Game 3 on Thursday night, with the Atlantic Division champions leading 2-0.
Trailing 2-2 in Game 3 on Tuesday night, the Lightning’s top power-play unit had a chance four minutes later when Eetu Luostarinen received a double foul for sticking high, but the visitors only managed two shots on the defenseman. Panthers goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky. In fact, the best scoring opportunity came when Florida’s Aaron Ekblad made a short breakaway, but goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped him. Earlier, Bobrovsky rushed across the field with his back to the play and blindly used his elbow to block Mathew Dumba’s shot into the wide net, denying him a lead with less than six minutes remaining in the second half. .
“You’re facing two of the best,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of the goalies. “To sit here and be on the biggest stage of the biggest tournament in the world, you’ll be amazed at some of the saves that have been made.” When making the save (Dumba), Bob didn’t give up. Maybe it’s more our fault than his, but you have to tip your hat to him. I thought the two biggest saves were the two Vasi made after that save, which at the time could’ve sunk us.
Added Bobrovsky: “It was just a desperation save.” Florida lost second-line center Sam Bennett to an upper-body injury in the second, prompting coach Paul Maurice to shift Anton Lundell between Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk. At 2:59 into overtime, the Panthers won 3-2 when Tkachuk beat defenseman Emil Lilleberg for a puck at the half-boards and passed it to Lundell. The center then fed Verhaeghe coming in from the left side. He skated by Vasilevskiy, set up a backhander and roofed the game-winner from a sharp angle. It was their 11th straight overtime playoff win, the second-longest in NHL history, including eight since the 2023 playoffs. The Lightning lost for the 10th time in their last 11 playoff games in overtime extra.
Meanwhile, Verhaeghe’s fifth overtime playoff winner in 47 games tied him all-time with Patrick Kane, Corey Perry and Glenn Anderson for third. Only Joe Sakic (eight) and Maurice Richard (six) have more. “Someone has to play,” Verhaeghe said. “Chucky played great, Lundy played great and I just finished it.”
The winger’s flair for the playoff drama is increasing.
A Stanley Cup winner with the Lightning in 2020, Verhaeghe helped Florida beat the Washington Capitals with the game-winning goal in overtime in 2022. Last season in overtime, he eliminated the Boston Bruins in the game. Saturday in Beantown. Ekblad later joked that Verhaeghe’s OT winners were the result of favorable genetics.
“He has clutch genes,” the defender said. “He was born that way. You say that, but it’s a lot of years of hard work. … There’s nothing surprising.
” Maurice said Wednesday that Bennett, who scored a goal and had an assist the night before, would be out for “at least a week.”