FORT LAUDERDALE | For a second season in a row, the Lightning will cross swords with the Panthers in the playoffs. This is only the second time in NHL history that the two Florida teams have met in the playoffs. Last year, Tampa Bay won in six games in the first round of playoffs. If the battle of the “Sunshine State” attracts attention, it is also a confrontation between two giants. On one side are the Stanley Cup winners of the last two seasons with the Lightning. On the other side are the winners of the Presidents’ Trophy this season, the Panthers.
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Lightning sheet
3rd Atlantic, 110 pts82 pd | 51v | 23d | 8 dp
Panthers sheet
1st Atlantic, 122 pts82 gp | 58v | 18d | 6 dp
KEEPERS
Jon Cooper had made the correct prediction the morning of Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I think we haven’t seen the best of Vasi [Andrei Vasilevskiy] yet. But I know one thing, he is always at his peak the higher the stakes. The goaltender played his best game of the series against the Leafs in Game 7. The Russian has never lost two games in a row since the start of the 2020 playoffs. At the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky has a more mysterious side. Despite his monstrous $10 million salary cap salary, he remains unpredictable. He finished the first round of the playoffs against the Capitals with a respectable 2.79 GAA and .906 save percentage.
DEFENDERS
The Lightning have a giant on the blue line in every sense of the word with Victor Hedman. He won the Norris Trophy in 2018, he was a finalist in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and he is a finalist again this season. He also has his name on the Conn-Smythe Trophy (2020). But it’s not just Hedman at the Lightning. Erik Cernak is a very good partner for the Swede. Ryan McDonagh and Mikhail Sergachev complete a luxury left flank. As for the Panthers, Aaron Ekblad will be healthy this spring compared to last year against the Lightning. He has the talent to make an impact in this duel. The Panthers have even more muscle on the blue line since the acquisition of Ben Chiarot, a player likely to eat big minutes (22 min 51 s against the Caps). MacKenzie Weegar and Gustav Forsling are the other two members of the top 4.
FORWARDERS
There is a big black cloud in the sky of the Lightning. Injured in the right leg in Game 7 against the Maple Leafs, Brayden Point is a questionable case. Cooper talked about a daily assessment. The absence of Point could hurt. But there is still a lot of talent and depth in the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn have experience in crucial encounters. And Julien BriseBois has made key additions again with Nicholas Paul and Brandon Hagel for his third line. The Panthers led the NHL this season with 337 goals. They have two formidable weapons with Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. Carter Verhaeghe had a phenomenal first round with 12 points in six games. Good old Claude Giroux, acquired from the Flyers, is also looking for a first coronation.
SPECIAL UNITS
The Panthers knocked out the Capitals in the first round without even scoring on the power play (0 for 18). Head Coach Andrew Brunette will pull out his board to come up with some solutions. Shorthanded, the Panthers also struggled, giving up seven goals in 24 chances (70.8%) in the first round. The Lightning showed much more respectable numbers with at least one man advantage at 21.2% and shorthanded at 85.7%.
CONFRONTATIONS 2021-2022
Lightning 2-2-0
Panthers 2-1-1
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