RECAP: Panthers 6, Lightning 2

TAMPA BAY – Welcome back, No. 19.

Making a triumphant return to the lineup after missing two months with a lower-body injury, Matthew Tkachuk tallied two goals and an assist to lead the Florida Panthers to a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Amalie Arena on Tuesday.

Enduring a long and hard rehab, Tkachuk last played at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

“Just being back with the guys and being able to compete with them and around them again, it's been a long two months,” said Tkachuk after the win. “I've got a ton of people to thank for getting me to this point and it was nice to play out there for them too.”

As they always say, the first goal carries a bit of extra weight on the road.

Not taking long to break the ice, Sam Bennett put the road team on top when he swatted in a cross-ice pass from Mackie Samoskevich to make it 1-0 at 3:44.

With the assist, Samosekvich recorded his first career playoff point in his first career playoff game.

“What I was looking for was just legs tonight,” said head coach Paul Maurice of Samoskevich’s playoff debut. “I thought his legs were good tonight. I really liked that part of the form.”

Going on the man advantage, the Lightning answered back.

After Sergei Bobrovsky stopped a pair of high-danger shots from Brandon Hagel and Jake Guentzel, Guentzel chased down a rebound and deposited a loose puck at 12:21 to even the score at 1-1.

Withstanding Tampa Bay’s momentum after the goal, Bobrovsky stood tall to keep the score even.

Scoring late in the period, Sam Reinhart deflected a Dmitry Kulikov shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy with 44 seconds remaining in the period to put the Panthers ahead 2-1 head into the intermission.

A good start, the Panthers led 9-5 in scoring chances at 5-on-5 after 20 minutes.

Keeping their foot on the gas and extending the lead in the second period, Nate Schmidt crashed the net after a physical shift from the third line and banged in a shot to put Florida up 3-1 at 4:41.

A seasoned veteran, Schmidt has now scored a playoff goal with four different teams.

Per NHL Stats, the only other defensemen in NHL history to score a playoff goal with more franchises are Larry Murphy and Paul Coffey, who each lit the lamp with five different teams.

After the Lightning unsuccessfully challenged for goaltender interference on Schmidt’s goal, the Panthers found themselves on the man advantage with an opportunity to really start to pull away.

It was an opportunity they didn’t let go to waste.

Looking no worse for wear after missing the last 25 games of the regular season, Tkachuk picked up right where he left off, beating Vasilevskiy in a 1-on-1 battle to put the Panthers up 4-1 at 4:55.

Taking the air out of the building, Florida’s two goals came just 14 seconds apart.

“I thought we were seeing a play and making a play,” said Tkachuk of the special teams. “We weren’t holding onto it for too long and we were winning some battles.”

Getting another opportunity on the power play later in the period, it was No. 19 yet again.

Ripping a shot from below the circle, Tkachuk put the Panthers up 5-1 at 9:44.

Making a bit of history, he became just the second player in Panthers history to score two power-play goals in the same period, joining Sam Reinhart, who accomplished the feat last season.

Countering, Brayden Point cut into Florida’s lead at 13:04 to make it 5-2.

Continuing the success on the mad advantage to a perfect three-for-three, Schmidt lit the lamp for the second time in Game 1 at 5:09, extending the lead to 6-2.

Locking it down for the remainder of the period, the Panthers closed out Game 1 with a 6-2 win.

“We put together a good game,” said Bobrovsky. “The whole team played great. They grinded, they worked hard, they were focused, so it’s a big one for us.”

THEY SAID IT

“We’re happy about the result and we’re getting ready for the next one.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on the team’s mindset after the Game 1 win

“There’s a lot of things that go into it and that’s the way our game was tonight.” – Nate Schmidt on the team’s performance

CATS STATS

- Matthew Tkachuk recorded his fourth career multi-goal game in the playoffs.

- Sam Bennett scored his fifth opening goal in the playoffs for the Panthers, the most in team history.

- Aleksander Barkov went 14-for-18 in the faceoff circle.

- Twelve different Panthers recorded at least two hits.

- Seth Jones logged a team-high 23:43 of ice time.

- Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 of 18 shots at 5-on-5.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Game 2.

The Panthers will look to go up 2-0 against the Lightning on Thursday at Amalie Arena at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Join us at the Official Game 2 Watch Party! For more information, click HERE.