The Florida Panthers have the Tampa Bay Lightning on the brink of elimination with their 5-3 win on Thursday Night in Tampa.
Matthew Tkachuk scored his second of the playoffs to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 10:39 of the first period.
Steven Stamkos and Tyler Motte scored for the Lightning in the second period to give the Bolts a brief 2-1 lead, their first lead in the series. The Panthers would also score two goals in the second period to take a 3-2 lead after two periods.
They would never trail the rest of the way as they made it look easy taking down the Bolts 5-3.
The Panthers lead the series 3-0 and can end the season for the Lightning on Saturday afternoon with a win in Tampa.
The Lightning Have Not Played Poorly, The Panthers Are Just That Good
It’s not that the Lightning have played poorly; it’s just that the Panthers are playing much better than the Lightning. There is no shame in getting beat by a better team, and the Panthers have been the better team this whole series.
For the second consecutive season, it looks like the Lightning will go home early after a first-round exit. Last season, Toronto knocked the Bolts out of the playoffs in the first round, and this year, it looks like it will be their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers.
Nikita Kucherov Has Been The Invisible Man In The Series
Coming off an MVP-caliber season, Nikita Kucherov has looked nowhere near like the player we saw during the regular season.
Not having Mikhail Sergachev available for this series has caused the defense to struggle, but every team has injuries this time of year, and you have to find a way to overcome those injuries.
The Number one power play has gone called this postseason, connecting on just 2/12 against the Panthers.
The Lightning are starting to mirror the Tampa Bay Rays. Both teams have great regular seasons with record-setting performances from some players, but they fold up like cheap suits come playoff time. These teams have disappeared lately during the postseason when the lights shine the brightest.
Some teams seem built for the regular season but not for the playoffs. The Lightning are quickly falling into that category.
However, there is a glimmer of hope. Yes, I am telling you there is a chance.
Four times in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, teams have trailed 3-0 in a series and have come back to win the series 4-3.
The Detroit Red Wings had a 3-0 series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942, before the Leafs came back and won four straight to win the series 4-3.
In 1975, the Pittsburgh Penguins led the New York Islanders 3-0 before the Isles came to win four straight and defeat the Penguins 4-3.
In 2010, the Boston Bruins had a 3-0 lead over the Philadelphia Flyers before the Flyers came back and beat the Bruins 4-3.
2014 saw the San Jose Sharks built a 3-0 lead against the LA Kings before the Kings won four in a row to beat the Sharks 4-3.
This Game Is For Believers Only
Jon Cooper threw down a challenge to his players after the game on Thursday night, when his team fell into a 3-0 deficit. “It’s tough when you get in situations like this. But the talk was we want the believers to show up at the rink tomorrow and if you’re not going to believe, you don’t have to come. So, we’ll see who shows up tomorrow.”
The fourth one is always the hardest to win in any series. The Panthers would like to end the series in Tampa, while the Bolts would like to extend the series back to South Florida on Monday Night.
Game four is on Saturday at 5 PM at Amalie Arena.