The Tampa Bay Lightning advanced to Round 2 of the NHL Playoffs as Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 29 shots in the Lightning’s 4-0 victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.
Game Flow
For the second straight game, Tampa Bay scored off their first shot of the game. Florida’s miscommunication error led to Pat Maroon scoring, making it 1-0.
Despite being outshot in the second, 11-7, Tampa would draw a penalty and take a 2-0 lead on a Steven Stamkos one-timer, which was set up by Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman.
Tampa would continue the scoring and dominating goaltending play in the third. Brayden Point would get his fourth goal of the playoffs at 14:36, when he slipped the puck past Spencer Knight and dangled past the Florida defensemen. Alex Killorn would then wrap it up with the empty-netter at 18:18 to give Tampa Bay the victory, 4-0. Despite the tough loss, rookie Spencer Knight stopped 20 out of 23 shots.
Takeaways
- Pat Maroon opened the scoring with his first goal of the 2021 postseason to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead. Tampa Bay, who scored 53 seconds into Game 5 (4-1 L), owns an all-time record of 13-2 when scoring first in a potential series-clinching game.
- Including one assist on Wednesday night, Victor Hedman has seven power-play assists this postseason. Only two players have recorded more power-play assists in a single series (since 1933-34 when goals by type were officially tracked): Paul Coffey (8 PPA in 1993 DSF w/ DET) and Mario Lemieux (8 PPA in 1992 DSF w/ PIT).
- Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves for his second career playoff shutout – both of which have come during series-clinching games (also Game 6 of 2020 SCF). He is the seventh active goaltender with multiple shutouts in series-clinching games: Ben Bishop (4), Marc-Andre Fleury (4), Tuukka Rask (3), Carey Price (3), Braden Holtby (2) and Henrik Lundqvist (2).
- The Lightning are headed to the Second Round for the eighth time in franchise history.
- Florida’s playoff drought extends to 25 years without a series victory. The Panthers last won a postseason series in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals.
What’s Next For the Tampa Bay Lightning?
The Tampa Bay Lightning will play the winner of the Nashville Predators/Carolina Hurricanes series. The Lightning will be looking to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions for the second straight year.
What’s Next For the Florida Panthers?
After a franchise-best season, the Florida Panthers are now out of the playoffs. So, Bill Zito and the rest of Florida’s front office will now focus on the offseason ahead.