And just like that… we’ve got a series.
The Tampa Bay Lightning responded in a big way on Saturday with a 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena. After dropping the first two games of this round, the Bolts showed grit — and they did it without one of their key weapons.
Playing without 90-point scorer Brandon Hagel, who was serving a one-game suspension is no small feat. Still the Lightning were able to dig in and find their spark.
“To be honest, you would have never known sitting in the locker room after Game 2 that we were down 0-2,” Jon Cooper said after the game. “So, riding into this game, I wasn’t going to guarantee the result, but you damn well knew the effort was going to be there.”
Nick Paul broke through late in the second period, giving the Lightning their first lead of the series with just 6:43 left on the clock. From there, Tampa Bay locked in defensively, showing the kind of playoff urgency they’ll need heading into Game 4.
“Our motto is next man up and we got a bunch of those guys on the team, whatever you need, step into that role,” said Paul. “You see blocks, guys laying out every single time. I think we have a lot of guys who are just warriors out there.”
With five minutes to go, Anthony Cirelli sealed it, scoring an empty-netter to stretch the Lightning’s lead 5-1. Right behind the play, Matthew Tkachuk leveled Jake Guentzel with an open-ice hit, drawing a five-minute major for interference — the exact same call that led to Brandon Hagel’s suspension just one day earlier.
“We’ve seen this happen in the series, I think the league is going to do their job,” Guentzel said after the game. "Personally, I think it was late.”
After the game, Jon Cooper was asked whether Matthew Tkachuk’s hit on Jake Guentzel deserved a similar suspension. He fired back with almost the exact same line Panthers coach Paul Maurice used just one day earlier when talking about his team’s physical play.
“The only players we hit,” Cooper said, “are the ones with pucks.”
After the way Game 2 ended, Guentzel felt that going on the road might have been the best thing for the team, bringing them closer together.
“It gives us some confidence and life in this series,” Guentzel said. “To go on the road, sometimes it brings everyone together. We had a great meal (Friday) night together, and it’s a good step in the right direction for all of us.”
The two teams will meet back in Sunrise on Monday for Game 4.