Panthers eliminate Lightning, advance to second round with Game 5 win: Takeaways

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TAMPA, Fla. — Nikita Kucherov enjoyed quite a season while collecting his third Art Ross Trophy.

He won’t be skating with the Stanley Cup for a third time this spring and largely has himself to blame. Kucherov, held without a goal in this series, has now gone 15 postseason games without scoring, and his turnover led to Sam Bennett’s game winner as the Panthers won the Battle of Florida convincingly, ending the Lightning in five games with a 6-3 victory Wednesday.

The Lightning went 0-3 at home in this series.

Kucherov, who did have four assists in the first four games, was a disaster throughout Game 5. He continually turned the puck over, forcing passes that simply weren’t there against the airtight Florida defense. The Tampa Bay superstar never looked himself in this series and Florida’s physical punishment on him started early and often.

“The plan was to be physical on Kucherov all series long,” Evan Rodrigues said after Game 5. “And that’s exactly what we did. It worked.”

Early in Game 1, Matthew Tkachuk crushed Kucherov with a high hit while Kucherov was engaged in another play. Tkachuk received a penalty, but the message was pretty clearly sent.

The Panthers hit Kucherov at every opportunity during the entire series, whether he had the puck or not. Their defensive game plan was clearly to make Kucherov’s life miserable, and the defending champions succeeded mightily.

Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Aleksander Barkov, Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart also scored for the Panthers, who will continue their Stanley Cup defense in the second round of the playoffs against the winner of the Toronto-Ottawa series, which the Maple Leafs lead 3-2.

Wild first 20 minutes

Most of this series has seen each team playing a very careful brand of hockey, feeling each other out in the first period, with few shots on goal and even fewer legitimate scoring opportunities.

Then came Wednesday.

Gage Goncalves scored for the Lightning just 2:33 into regulation. Florida responded with two goals — one from Verhaeghe, the other from Lundell — to take a 2-1 lead, silencing the Amalie Arena crowd.

Nick Paul, however, scored before the game was 13 minutes old to pull the Lightning even at two.

Everything about the opening period was different than anything we’ve seen in this series. Tampa Bay’s desperation was evident, and it was the first time the Lightning had displayed this kind of emotion, starting 30 seconds into regulation when Conor Geekie absolutely annihilated Dmitry Kulikov with perhaps the biggest hit of this series.

It was so clear from the very beginning that the low-scoring, low-event hockey that has been evident for large chunks of time during this series would be nowhere to be found in this game. This one was going to be different, and it was. You could see it from the beginning.

Don’t be fooled

Statistically speaking, it wasn’t a great game for the goaltenders. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t plenty of spectacular saves, however.

With the score tied at 2 late in the first period, Reinhart looked to have a tap-in, but Andrei Vasilevskiy came out of nowhere with a right pad save to keep the game even. Florida was simply dominant in front of Vasilevskiy all evening, making the goaltender’s life miserable.

Sergei Bobrovsky, like Vasilevskiy, wasn’t perfect. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t spectacular at times. He most certainly was.

The Lightning produced a swarming surge in the second period, which forced Bobrovsky to make a number of 10-bell saves. He saved his best for his last.

Goncalves was left all alone in front of the goaltender and had a golden opportunity to score his second goal of the evening.

Bobrovsky, however, would have none of it. He made a spectacular save, one that left the Tampa Bay crowd buzzing.

There once was a time, when Bobrovsky played in Philadelphia and Columbus, when he was considered a liability in big games and playoff games despite his obvious physical gifts. Those days are long, long gone.

“Sergei was really good all night,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said after Game 5. “But those saves he made in the second period? If he had made those saves at the end of the third period, it’s all we’d be talking about right now.”

Jake Guentzel shows up again

Jake Guentzel, unlike his fellow stars, showed up again in a big game.

With Tampa Bay trailing 3-2 in the second period, Guentzel whipped a wrist shot past Bobrovsky to even the score. It was Guentzel’s third goal and sixth point of the series. Both figures led the Lightning.

Tampa Bay’s other big names, led by Kucherov, were generally non-existent in this series.

Vasilevskiy had his moments but was outplayed by Bobrovsky.

Brayden Point scored two goals, but one was in a blowout loss and the other was a fluky shot that hit his leg in Game 3. He wasn’t a presence.

Anthony Cirelli, playing at something less than 100 percent, managed just one point all series.

Brandon Hagel, after absorbing an illegal hit to the head from Aaron Ekblad in Game 4, did not play in Game 5. He didn’t produce a point in the series.

(Photo: Mike Carlson / Getty Images)





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