Lightning Round: Tampa Bay will face Florida in the first round of Stanley Cup Playoffs
These teams never met in the postseason before.
Share this story
Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images
After yesterday’s loss to the Dallas Stars, the Tampa Bay Lightning are officially eliminated from the first place race in the Central Division and will face the Florida Panthers in the first round of Stanley Cup Playoffs. Despite an almost 30-year long history of playing in the same division, these team have never previously met in the postseason.
It’s official – the @TBLightning and @FlaPanthers will go head-to-head in the #StanleyCup Playoffs for the first time.
Don Granato was short on time, something he knows a thing or two about. The day he took over as Buffalo Sabres interim head coach on March 18, the team’s morning skate was cancelled due to the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol.
The only chance he had to gather his reeling roster was a couple hours before puck drop and Granato was tasked with finding the words to shake a sleepwalking team out of an abysmal 12-game winless streak, one of the longest in the NHL this century.
“I looked at them and I said, ‘I guarantee you this is not the worst thing you will go through. I assure you our situation is not bleak. Pick our heads up,’” Granato recounted Thursday.
Bennett lifts Panthers to 4-3 overtime win over Blackhawks
Share this story
Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images
Sam Bennett scored with 52 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the penultimate road game of the 2020-21 season for the playoff-bound Cats.
Bennett took a bounce pass off the boards from MacKenize Weegar at his own blue line and skated all the way down the ice unimpeded before slinging a rising wrist shot over Kevin Lankinen’s glove from the top portion of the left circle.
SAM BENNETT (@SBennett93) OVERTIME WINNER!
AP Photos
The Blackhawks’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Panthers on Thursday was a game for disgruntled players thriving in new situations.
Vinnie Hinostroza, the ex-Panthers forward enjoying a brilliant April in Chicago, scored for the Hawks in his first matchup against his now-former team.
But Sam Bennett, the ex-Flames forward tearing it up just as much for the Panthers in recent weeks, struck late in OT to deal the Hawks another defeat.
“It was a step forward,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “We had more than enough [chances] to score in overtime, so that leaves a sour taste not to get the two points. But speaking of the overall performance, [I’m] much happier with how we came out tonight and competed than the last game.”