Florida captain Aleksander Barkov missed the final 10:09 of the Panthers’ win in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series at Tampa Bay on Thursday night, after taking a hit from the Lightning’s Brandon Hagel.
Barkov remained down on one knee briefly after the hit, then skated off and went to the Panthers’ locker room. He did not return and after the game, Panthers coach Paul Maurice was asked if he had an update on Barkov’s condition.
“Nope,” Maurice said.
Hagel drew a 5-minute major for interference on the play. Florida led 1-0 at the time, and an empty-netter by Sam Bennett with about 3 seconds remaining gave the Panthers a 2-0 win in the game and 2-0 lead in the series.
“Refs made the call,” said Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, who pleaded his case unsuccessfully after the penalty on Hagel was called. “I was a little surprised it was a (major) … five minutes in a 1-0 game with eight minutes to play, nine minutes to play, that’s a tough situation to be in.”
Barkov has three assists so far in the series, including one on Florida’s opening goal Thursday by defenseman Nate Schmidt — who got the winning goals in both games at Tampa. Schmidt scored twice in Florida’s 6-2 win in the series opener on Tuesday.
The question now becomes if Barkov will miss time going forward. Game 3 of the series is Saturday afternoon on the Panthers’ ice in Sunrise, where they’ll play a home playoff game for the first time since June 24, 2024 — when they beat Edmonton in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
“He’s irreplaceable,” Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said. “He’s an irreplaceable player. Face-offs, power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5, playing against their top lines, one of the best centermen in the league. He’s obviously super-important to our team.”
Panthers 2, Lightning 0 - Game 2
The most crucial stretch of Game Two came in the first five minutes. The Lightning missed two open nets and failed to score on a power play. Then, on the shift after the power play ended, the Lightning iced the puck. The Panthers won the ensuing offensive-zone faceoff, and Nate Schmidt finished a right-point one-timer at 4:15. Schmidt fired his shot across the grain, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy inside the far side post.
For the final 55-plus minutes, both teams defended tightly. They limited scoring chances and excelled during shorthanded situations. Unfortunately for the Lightning, they were the team chasing, and they never managed to tie the game.
The Lightning improved on many of their Game One problem areas. They handed the Florida forecheck effectively. They closed off the middle of the ice in front of their net. They won their fair share of puck battles. And their penalty kill, which allowed three goals on three chances in Game One, went 3-3 in Game Two. The third of those kills was a major penalty that lasted 4:18.
Still, the Lightning didn’t get the result and are now in a big hole. They’ll need a win on Saturday in Game Three to avoid falling into a 3-0 series deficit.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Sam Reinhart — Panthers. Assist.
- Gustav Forsling — Panthers.
- Anthony Cirelli — Lightning.
