The defending champion Florida Panthers took their first step toward a repeat Wednesday night when they eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 in Game 5.
The Panthers, healthy after dealing with injuries down the stretch, won all three games in Tampa to advance to the second round. They've been to the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons and also beat the Lightning in five games last season.
The Panthers picked up wins in multiple ways in dominating the series against their rivals: a rout in Game 1 and a shutout in Game 2. They rallied in Game 4 with goals 11 seconds apart to overcome Lightning goals that were scored 11 seconds apart earlier
And Wednesday, they won after giving up the first goal of the game for the first time in the series. Tampa Bay's Gage Goncalves got that at 2:31 but it didn't last long with Carter Verhaeghe and Anton Lundell giving Florida the lead by the midway point of the period.
Every time the Lightning tied the game, the Panthers responded. Sam Bennett put Florida ahead to stay in the second period, coming out of the penalty box to score for a 4-3 lead.
Eetu Luostarinen made it 5-3 in the third period to give him a four-point game. Sam Reinhart added an empty-netter.
The Panthers, already a deep championship team, added Brad Marchand, Seth Jones and penalty killer Nico Sturm before the trade deadline. They held the Lightning to two power-play goals in the series and scored 16 times against Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy. NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov didn't have a goal.
They'll face the Toronto Maple Leafs or Ottawa Senators in the second round. Toronto leads that series 3-2 but has lost the last two games.
Panther's Aaron Ekblad to have hearing for hit on Lightning's Brandon Hagel
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad is set to have a hearing for his hit on Lightning forward Brandon Hagel in Game 4 in Sunrise Monday night.
Ekblad landed a hit to the head and neck area of Hagel, who fell directly on his back with around 8 minutes left in the second period. Ekblad was not penalized and Hagel did not return to the game.
The Panthers defenseman later went on to score, with Florida winning 4-2 and taking a 3-1 series lead. This was Ekblad’s second game back after returning from a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s performing enhancing drug program.
