PREVIEW: Panthers take another shot at eliminating Lightning in Game

No lineup changes expected as Panthers try to punch their ticket to Round .

Taking a second whack at punching their ticket to Round 2, the Florida Panthers will host the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.

Back home with a 3-1 series lead, the Panthers are confident they can close things out.

“We’re in a great mood,” Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling said. “Obviously not happy with last game, but everyone’s excited to be back on home ice.”

Staving off elimination, the Lightning avoided being swept by the Panthers with a 6-3 win at Amalie Arena on Saturday. After three straight strong starts from the Panthers in the series, the first period of Game 4 belonged to the Lightning, who led 3-0 after the first 20 minutes.

Not backing down, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart and Oliver Ekman-Larsson all lit the lamp for the Panthers in the third period to make it a 4-3 game heading into the third. But in the final frame, Steven Stamkos and Nick Paul each scored to give the Lightning a 6-3 win.

Leading the charge up front for Tampa Bay, Stamkos has scored in every game of the series.

“We know we didn’t like parts of our game,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said.

“It was pretty clear, especially in the first 13 minutes or so. Even though the total score was 2-1, I think late, even after their first power play, there were some things we felt weren’t right,of the Lightning’s six goals in Game 4 that came while the game was played 5-on-4 or 4-on-4, the man who scored twice for Tampa Bay also scored a shorthanded goal in the first period.

At 5-on-5, Florida holds a 3-1 lead in goals.

Overall, the Lightning have a 17-9 advantage in power plays in the series.

“The last game we won had too many penalties and that’s why they won,” Panthers defender Niko Mikkola said. “We just need to stay outside the box. I think PK is quite good.in Game 5. Sergei Bobrovsky will be selected for the Panthers, while Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to start for the Lightning.

Earlier this morning, Bobrovsky was selected as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. “Your name doesn’t come up if you’re famous for a month or two,” Maurice said of Bobrovsky, who won the award in 2017 and 2013.

“It was a special goalkeeping season. That’s how much time he spent on it throughout his career. He has put himself in a position to be a man of his age and one of the best players in his game.”

For tonight’s game , the Panthers are focused on getting off to a strong start.

Before allowing three goals in the first period of Game 4, they outscored Tampa Bay 4-1 in the first period first in the first three matches of the series. With the first cut usually being the deepest, the team that scores first also wins every game in the series.

Forsling said: “We know how effective they can be when scoring a goal”. “This is something we want to stop. Just score the first goal and move on. »

While no lineup changes are expected for the Panthers in Game 5, Maurice recently provided an update on wing forward Sam Bennett (p. above) and Ryan Lomberg (disease).

Lomberg, absent since the first match, has returned to training but will need a few days to “recover his motivation”. Bennett, who has been out since Game 2, is “recovering well” and is expected to begin skating again in the near future once his swelling has subsided.

“It’s going to be a short week, and we’re still at it,” Maurice said of Bennett’s injury.

As is the case with all series, updates Lightning roster updates will not appear until after launch.