Kyle Palmieri (21) of the New York Islanders vs. Sebastian Aho of the Hurricanes Caroline, bottom right, in the final. minutes of Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, North Carolina, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker
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Lightning Panthers Hockey >Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores against Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during overtime of Game 2 of the first round of the playoff series off NHL Stanley Cup, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Sunrise, Florida. Lightning 3-2 in overtime. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)ASSOCIATED PRESSPlus
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Experience shows the Tampa Bay Lightning it’s time to get to work – don’t panic.
The New York Islanders, too, are down 2 points. -0 after playing well at times and losing first two NHL playoff games on the road
Both teams understand it will take more than a homecoming Thursday night – Lightning vs. with Florida and the Islanders. host Carolina – to change the course of these first-round matches.
New York blew a three-goal lead in their loss to the Hurricanes in Game 2 . Tampa Bay lost two games by one goal to the Panthers to fall behind 2-0 for the first time in the series since losing games 1 and 2 of the 2020 Eastern Conference on the road to the New York Rangers
. A late goal into an empty net made the difference in the first game. Carter Verhaeghe’s overtime winner decided Game 2.
“They were really entertaining. You are at the edge of your seat. There were some big stops on both ends of the floor, but in the end, they got it done on the last play and they did it both nights,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.< br>
“And we can do it. ‘ no wait: ‘Wow, we’re already close.’ That’s what golf teams are saying right now,” Cooper added. “If we don’t get that, we have to be the team that makes the extra play.”
The core of Tampa Bay’s all-star lineup includes many players left over from the team. who won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021.
Two years ago, the Lightning lost the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals before meeting the Rangers to reach the finals third straight Stanley Cup finish.
“It’s obviously a big hole, but we’ve done it before,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said.
Cooper pointed out that there’s only ‘ only one way to do it’. One game at a time.
“We’re not going to win two games (Thursday night). We just needed to get a win,” Cooper said. Cooper added: “There is a big difference between 0-3 and 2-1. “Our mission is to make sure the score is 2-1.”
PANTHERS at LIGHTNING, Panthers lead 2-0, 7 p.m. ET (TBS)
The Panthers have their first problem in this round of the playoffs.
Sam Bennett, who was fifth on the team during the regular season and had a goal and a passer before getting injured during the season Game 2 of the Panthers’ series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, will be out at least a week with an upper-body injury.
Good news , coaching Panthers member Paul Maurice said without revealing details that the injury was not as serious as the team initially feared.
Bennett left the field after being hit by Florida teammate Brandon Montour in the second period of a 3-2 overtime win that gave the defending Eastern Conference champions a 2-0 lead in the series.
Bennett did not travel with the team to Tampa on Wednesday. He will be re-evaluated next week.
“You want to stay healthy. Every team tries to do that,” Maurice said. “But every team is going to have players out of the lineup.”
Bennett immediately dropped his stick, appeared to hold his wrist and slid toward the Panthers’ bench after when hit by the ball. As he sat on the bench, he paused for only a second or two before heading down the tunnel toward the Florida locker room for evaluation. He has missed 13 games for Florida this season, including 12 of the team’s first 13 games.
STORM at ISLANDERS, Hurricanes lead 2-0, 7:30 p.m. ET. ET (ESPN2)
The Islanders will make a change in Game 3, switching to Ilya Sorokin after Semyon Varlamov suffered his first two losses. Varlamov allowed six goals while facing 63 shots in two games in Raleigh, with coach Patrick Roy saying it would be nice to have a “new” goaltender in Sorokin (25-19-0, no. goals against average is 3.01, save percentage is 909).
“I just think he came in with the perfect scenario,” Roy said Wednesday. “We’re up 2-0 in the series, now he comes in. All he can do is come in and enjoy the ride.”
The Islanders had chance to win both games on the road to start this series, including taking a 3-0 lead in Monday’s 5-3 loss in Game 2. Carolina scored the game-tying goals. 9 seconds apart at the end of the third period, although Roy was more disappointed with the opening loss that left New York playing closer to his favorite.
In his opinion , the Hurricanes dominated Game 2 after falling into their big hole with long moves and frequent wilting in the offensive zone. In the end, Carolina held a 39-12 advantage in shots – including a 17-1 edge in the third period – while finishing with a 110-28 advantage in shots.
Center Islanders Bo Horvat said they needed to do a better job handling the puck and take better advantage of transition opportunities after being held back for long
periods by the Hurricanes’ aggressive forechecking.
We are in a good mood here regardless of the score,” center Mathew Barzal said. “We are taking it day by day and enjoying this moment. Now we have the opportunity to make an epic comeback. body damage. Coach Rod Brind’Amour said Pesce will “most likely” miss this series.
That would likely bring offensive-minded defenseman Tony DeAngelo into the Carolina lineup, as he teams up with Brady Skjei in Wednesday’s practice.
