The Florida Panthers are looking forward to getting a second chance to dethrone the Tampa Bay Lightning when they play Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday,
The Panthers faced their cross-state rivals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup First Round last season. The Lightning won in six games and went on to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight season.
Florida enters the rematch with newfound confidence after defeating the Washington Capitals in six games in the first round for its first playoff series win since defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1996 Eastern Conference Final.
"Everybody knows how good they are," Panthers forward Anton Lundell said. "They won two Cups in a row and it's a good challenge for us, and I think we're ready."
Tampa Bay outlasted the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games to continue its quest to become the first team to win the Cup in three straight seasons since the New York Islanders' run of four straight from 1980-83. But the Lightning know they will have their hands full against the Panthers, who won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL regular-season leaders in points and led the League in scoring with 4.11 goals per game during the regular season.
"They've got skilled players. They can execute," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "They scored the most goals in the League. They've had multiple comebacks. They're a score-first mentality and they're good at it. So if you aren't prepared to do some of the things that slow them down, it's going to be a tough series."
The Lightning will be without forward Brayden Point because of a lower-body injury sustained in Game 7 against the Maple Leafs. Point scored six points (four goals, two assists) in the series against Florida last season.
The Panthers believe they are better equipped for the Lightning after adding forward Claude Giroux and defenseman Ben Chiarot before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline. Giroux scored seven points (three goals, four assists) in the first round and Chiarot played a key role next to Aaron Ekblad on Florida's top defense pair.
The most valuable addition might be the experience of winning a playoff series.
"I think we learned through that last series [against Washington] that we have to control our emotions," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "It's going to be a rollercoaster ride and we can talk about it until we're blue in the face, until you go through it, until you realize and understand it. I think we're building towards that.
"So that would be maybe a little bit of a difference and that first series really helped us grow a little bit."
Here are three keys for Game 1:
