After a slow start, Florida closed out Game 5 and the series as they did so many games this season

There was a lot to like in the Florida Panthers’ series clinching victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.

As demoralizing as it was to see Florida come up short in their quest for a four-game sweep, it was equally as thrilling to a six-spot and take out the Lightning in five games.

Now the Cats get a few extra days to rest and recharge, with the hopes that they can enter round two the same way they did against Tampa: fully healthy.

Looking back at Game 5, there were a few things that were worth highlighting.

Let’s get to the takeaways.

LEADERS STEP UP

Back on home ice, with all the confidence that comes with the kind of season the Panthers just had, Florida was poised to collectively rise to the occasion.

Leading the way would be Florida’s veteran leaders, captain Sasha Barkov and starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Barkov turned in one of the best playoff performances of his career while Bobrovsky was stellar in goal, making 31 saves, including all eight high-danger shots sent his way by the Lightning, on a night Tampa’s expected goals was 2.86, according to Natural Stat Trick.

“When you’re the number one goaltender and when you’re the captain, and you have a series that doesn’t go your way, those are the guys they look at,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “They have to answer for it. Both of those guys were really good tonight…both of those guys were really, really good all series.”

MOVING LINES AROUND

For really the first time during the series, Maurice did some major rearranging with the forward lines.

As he explained after the game, he knew he could rely on a familiar pairing to provide the kind of defense necessary to go up against Tampa’s best.

Here is what the top nine looked like, post changes:

Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart

Vladimir Tarasenko – Kevin Stenlund – Evan Rodrigues

“I thought Anton Lundell tonight was rock solid,” Maurice said. “And he’s playing against (Brayden) Point, so the advantage that we have possibly in that game, from that change, is that I can get Luostarinen and Lundell and Reinhart, and they can hold that line. When that happens, the Barkov line gets a little bit different assignment. So Anton Lundell had a major impact on the success of our game tonight, and it would be quietly because he didn’t score any goals, but he was a big part of it.”

SETTLED INTO CLOSEOUT GAME

The Panthers appeared to get better as Game 5 progressed.

They were fine during the first period, other than not record a shot on goal over the final 6:50.

A goal by Carter Verhaeghe during the first minute of the second period sparked the Cats back into form, and from then on, Florida was locked in and rolling, finally matching the energy level of their coach.

“I drank a lot of coffee before the game, so I was ready, and then what I was feeling didn’t match what I was seeing, and you’re kinda going what the…,” Maurice said. “I thought we were tight. So we get into the second period, Carter’s goal is big, and you can almost feel we’re going to be different in the second period, we’re gonna start coming a little bit.

“The third period, you’ve got a 2-1 lead, so all that tension comes back into your room. God, you want to win so bad. We made a bunch of plays in the third period; we made more plays in the third period, in that pressure, than we did in the first period, when there’s still lots of time on the clock and you shouldn’t necessarily be feeling the pressure.”

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