Panthers enter Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final looking to do what they do best and bounce back

Florida hasn't lost consecutive games since Game 3 and 4 of the first round against Boston

Getting out of Las Vegas with a two-game split would be a solid way to return home for the Florida Panthers.

The Cats came up short in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday, giving up three third period goals after entering the final frame tied at two.

It was a tightly contested game for the most part.

The X-factor for the Golden Knights was goaltender Adin Hill. His second period stick save on Nick Cousins stopped Florida from taking a 2-1 lead and shifted the momentum of the game in Vegas’ favor.

He finished the game with 33 saves, several of which were of the high-end variety.

Between the great game by Hill, Florida’s penalty trouble or overall lack of success on special teams, many of the things that recently gone well for the Panthers did not fall their way on Saturday.

Fortunately, it’s a best-of-7 series.

“I think there's lots of areas that we can improve both ends of the rink, and there's things that we'll look at and talk about and look forward to the next game,” said Panthers forward Eric Staal.

Hill’s counterparty, Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, came into the Final as many people’s leader in the clubhouse for the Conn Smythe Trophy.

A big part of that stems from Bob being nearly unbeatable during the conference final against Carolina, going 4-0 with a 1.12 goals against average and .966 save percentage.

Bobrovsky was good, but not great, during Game 1 in Vegas. He gave up four goals in a game for the first time since Game 6 against Boston…38 days ago.

Confidence unshaken, Bobrovsky is anxious to get back in the cage and resume his remarkable playoff journey.

“I played a good game, I played a solid game,” Bobrovsky said after Game 1. “They created some good chances. So other than then goals, they had lots of good scoring chances and that was fun.”

LINEUP NOTES

Despite skating in each of the two days leading up to Game 1, Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen did not suit up on Saturday.

He was replaced in the lineup by Zac Dalpe, who was on the ice for just five minutes and 20 seconds during the loss.

After saying he was “optimistic” about Luostarinen’s status prior to Game 1, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice wouldn’t say anything about the two-way forward on Sunday.

“He won’t skate today, and neither will anyone else,” Maurice said with a smile. “We will wait until tomorrow to find out.”

Aside from that, lines and pairings for both teams are expected to remain intact for Game 2.

LINEUP UPDATES

Maurice said Luostarinen would not be playing in Game 2. 

That likely means Dalpe will suit up once again. 

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Matthew Tkachuk on training with Vegas' defenseman Alex Pietrangelo during the offseason: "Past few summers I've worked out and skated with him a bit. He's one of the top defensemen on their team, we definitely have to be hard on him. I think that (Vegas defenseman Shea) Throdore is probably playing the best out of all of them right now, another guy we've got to really be aware when he's out there. At the end of the day, you throw all your relationships out the door when it comes to this time of year."

Radko Gudas on staying the course after losing Game 1: "I just don't think there is enough room for us to panic. We all know what to do, we've been in tough situations before."

Sasha Barkov on the team remaining upbeat and confident: "If we work hard enough, we know that's not the problem. I think the execution in the first game maybe wasn't there, but we don't think about it. We only think about the future and the next game. It was a good Game 1, we'll learn from it and now we're ready for Game 2."

Josh Mahura on Florida making adjustments game-to-game: "You go into each game in a seven-game series and every game is their own deal. Whether you win or lose Game 1, you've got to get ready for Game 2 and put that in the past.