Apr 22, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) celebrates after he scored a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/d6896948-2e74-46c1-b44c-f1497eb7fb5d.jpeg] Apr 22, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) celebrates after he scored a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. (Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images) The Florida Panthers will look to build on their series-opening victory when they hit the ice on Thursday night in Tampa. Florida skated to an impressive 6-2 win in Game 1 against the host Tampa Bay Lightning and can return to Sunrise with a commanding 2-0 series lead if they can pull off a repeat performance in Game 2 at Amalie Arena. Despite finishing the regular season with the third-most shots per game in the NHL at 31.6, Florida mustered only 17 shots on a paltry 35 attempts during Tuesday’s win. Fortunately, the Cats were incredibly accurate and timely with their shots, beating world class goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy six times, including a stretch during the second period in which Florida scored on three consecutive shots. The Panthers received a massive boost during Game 1 with the return of Matthew Tkachuk. After suffering an apparent groin injury at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Tkachuk had gone over two months since playing in a hockey game and was chomping at the bit to get back out there. Skating on the Sam Bennett line and receiving his usual reps on the top power play, Tkachuk provided an instant spark both physically and offensively. He finished the game with two goals and an assist while only playing 11:43 of ice time. Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Game 2 in Tampa: Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand Evan Rodrigues – Nico Sturm – Jesper Boqvist Gus Forsling – Seth Jones Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt Scratches: A.J. Greer, Jonah Gadjovich, Tomas Nosek, Jaycob Megna LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Matthew Tkachuk 'super grateful' following impactful return to Panthers lineup [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/matthew-tkachuk-super-grateful-following-impactful-return-to-panthers-lineup] Three takeaways: Panthers defeat Tampa Bay in odd Game 1 that lacked physicality, even strength play [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-defeat-tampa-bay-in-odd-game-1-that-lacked-physicality-even-strength-play] Tkachuk scores twice in return, leads Panthers to Game 1 victory over Tampa Bay [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/tkachuk-scores-twice-in-return-leads-panthers-to-game-1-victory-over-tampa-bay] Matthew Tkachuk removed from Injured Reserve ahead of Game 1 in Tampa [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/matthew-tkachuk-removed-from-injured-reserve-ahead-of-game-1-in-tampa] Florida betting trends leaning toward Tampa Bay despite Panthers being favored [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/florida-betting-trends-leaning-toward-tampa-bay-despite-panthers-being-favored]
