The reigning, defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers kept their hopes of back-to-back championships alive, and they did it by disposing of one of their division rivals.
The Panthers went into Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena with a 3-1 series advantage and an opportunity to send their Atlantic Division foes home early.
Florida got spirited performances from Eetu Luostarinen (one goal, four points), Anton Lundell (one goal, three points), and trade-deadline acquisition Brad Marchand (two assists), plus goals from Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe to bookmark a dominant 6-3 win to advance to Round 2 of the playoffs.
Florida’s success was thanks, in part, to a well-rounded offensive effort. Six players scored five or more points during the series, including star forward Matthew Tkachuk, who is tied for the team-lead in goals (three) and tied for the second-most points (five) in the postseason.
While the bragging rights that come with eliminating a division opponent from the postseason would be enough for most players, not for Tkachuk. The 27-year-old winger took the opportunity when he was asked during a postgame interview how rewarding it was to beat a division rival to really pour salt in Tampa Bay’s wound.
“I don’t know if it’s really a rivalry,” Tkachuk scoffed.
Adding insult to injury for the Lightning was the fact that it was the third straight season they were one-and-done in the playoffs, and it’s the second consecutive year the Panthers were the team that sent them packing.
While both teams have had some memorable battles over the years, few would argue the Panthers have clearly had the advantage as of late.
“It’s nice to beat them back-to-back years, both in 5,” Tkachuk added. “It’s been fun playing them. We’ve had some success the last couple of years, and hopefully we can keep that momentum going. It was a hard-fought series, obviously, I guess we don’t like them, and I know they don’t like us. I’m excited that series is over and we can move on.”
