Panthers Pregamer Round 1, Game 4 at TBL

MAY 22, 2021 at TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

2020-21 vs. TBL: 5-2-1
GAME 1 vs. TBL: FLA 4, TBL 5
GAME 2 vs. TBL: FLA 1, TBL 3
GAME 3 at TBL: FLA 6, TBL 5 [OT]

PLAYOFFS TEAM STATS

	FLORIDA (1-2)	TAMPA BAY (2-1)
GOALS FOR	11 (5^th most)	13 (T-2^nd most)
GOALS AGAINST	13 (T-14^thfewest)	11 (12^th fewest)
POWER PLAY %	37.5 (2^nd)	50.0 (1^st)
PENALTY KILL %	50.0 (16^th)	62.5 (15^th)
SHOTS FOR PER-GAME	39.7 (2^nd)	33.3 (11^th)
SHOTS AGAINST PER-GAME	33.3 (6^thfewest)	39.7 (15^th fewest)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %	55.4 (4^th)	44.6 (13^th)
FACEOFF WIN %	49.3 (11^th)	50.7 (6^th)

CATS STATS

Florida earned its first win of the playoffs in Game 3, tying a franchise record for goals in a playoff game (April 17 & 22, 1996) with six tallies and earned their first OT victory in the postseason since May 12, 1996 at PHI. FLA scored three unanswered goals in Game 3 at TBL to win in OT and tallied goals on each of its two power play opportunities in the game.
Through three playoff games, 11 different Panthers players have scored for FLA, while the Cats have out-hit TBL 147-118. Jonathan Huberdeau‘s six points (1-5-6) in the series leads the Cats and is two points shy of matching the franchise record for total points in a series (8 points – Ray Sheppard, 1996 vs. BOS, Reilly Smith, 2016 vs. NYI). Including 2020-21 regular season play and playoffs, the Panthers have won each of their last two games at Amalie Arena and have scored at least five goals against TBL on the road three times.
The Panthers finished Game 3 at TBL 2-2 on the power play, marking the first time the Panthers have scored multiple power play goals in a playoff game since April 17, 2012 at NJD. Six different Panthers recorded a power-play point (Barkov, Hornqvist, Huberdeau, Tippett, Weegar, Wennberg). FLA owns a 37.5 PP% (3-8) in the playoffs.
Aleksander Barkov recorded an assist in Game 3, his third consecutive game with a point in the series (1-3-4) and his seventh consecutive postseason game played with a point (2-6-8). Ranking second on FLA in playoff points (4), Barkov leads the club with 14 shots on goal, while averaging 21:09 TOI per game, the most among FLA forwards. Over 13 career NHL postseason games with FLA, the 25-year-old native of Tampere, Finland, has amassed 11 points (5-6-11). Over 34 career regular season games vs. TBL, Barkov has logged 28 points (5-23-28), including a point-per-game average this season (1-7-8 in 8 GP). Including regular season games, Barkov has points in each of his last seven games (3-7-10).
Jonathan Huberdeau registered his second three-point game of the playoffs, notching three assists in Game 3 at TBL. Huberdeau is the fifth Panthers player in franchise history to notch three assists in a playoff game and the third Panther to record multi-point efforts of at least three points in a single series, joining Ray Sheppard (April 17 &22, 1996) and Reilly Smith (April 14 &17, 2016). Huberdeau’s team-leading six points (1-5-6) through his first three postseason games ranked tied for second in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Florida’s franchise leader for assists and points has recorded 12 points (3- 9-12) over 13 career NHL postseason games and has produced points in five of his last seven postseason games played (2-7-9).
Huberdeau has produced 38 points (13-25-38) over 38 career regular season games vs. TBL, the most points he has registered against any NHL team. His point-per-game trend vs. TBL continued this season, logging seven points (3-4-7) over seven games against FLA’s cross-state rival.
Sam Bennett scored his first playoff goal with FLA in Game 3 at TBL, improving to three points (1-2-3) in two postseason contests. Over 12 combined games in a Panthers uniform between regular season and playoffs, Bennett has produced 18 points (7-11-18), recording points in all but one game for FLA since April 17 at TBL. In his career in the playoffs, Bennett has produced 22 points (12-10-22) in 32 games.
Head Coach Joel Quenneville has won four Stanley Cups in his coaching career, with three won as Head Coach of CHI (2010, 2013, 2015). One of only 11 head coaches in NHL history to have won three Stanley Cups, Quenneville ranks third all-time for postseason wins by a head coach, earning his 120th career playoff win in Game 3 at TBL, moving four wins away of surpassing Al Arbour (123) for second all-time.
Ryan Lomberg scored FLA’s OT game-winner in Game 3 at TBL, becoming the first Panthers player to score a playoff OT goal since Mike Hough (Game 5, ECQF at PHI, May 12, 1996). The goal snapped an eight-game playoff winless streak in OT, dating back to June 10, 1996 (Game 4 vs. COL, SCF). The third Panther to ever record an OT playoff goal, joining Hough and Dave Lowry, Lomberg is the first Panthers rookie to score an OT playoff goal. Lomberg’s OT goal was scored on his first shot of the game. The 26-year-old registered seven hits in Game 3 and ranks second on FLA in hits during the postseason (17).
Stopping all nine shots faced in relief in Game 3 at TBL, Sergei Bobrovsky earned his first win of the postseason and improved to a .975 even strength save percentage in the playoffs. Bobrovsky has earned a win in each of his last three playoff games at Amalie Arena, dating back to April 10, 2019 with CBJ. Over four playoff games against TBL while playing with CBJ in 2019, Bobrovsky owned a 4-0-0 record, 2.01 goals against average and .932 save percentage.
The Panthers have amassed 147 hits through three playoff games, with Radko Gudas leading the team with 24 hits. FLA logged 54 hits in Game 1 vs. TBL, marking the second-most hits in a single Panthers playoff game since the NHL began tracking hits in 2005-06 (60 – April 26, 2012 vs. NJD). Gudas led the Cats with a FLA playoff record 11 hits.
Owen Tippett registered two assists in Game 3 at TBL, marking his second multi-point effort of the postseason. Tippett is the only Panthers rookie to have ever produced multiple multi-point efforts in the playoffs. In Game 1, in his first career NHL playoff game, Florida’s 2017 1st round pick posted two points (1-1-2), becoming the first Panthers rookie to record a multi-point game in their playoff debut. Tippett joined Ed Jovanovski and Radek Dvorak as the only other Panthers rookies to have recorded multi-point playoff efforts. He was the first Panthers rookie to score a playoff goal since David Nemirovsky (April 23, 1997 at NYR). Tippett has produced four points (1-3-4) in the playoffs, tying Dvorak (1-3-4, 1996) for the second-most points registered by a Panthers rookie in the postseason. Jovanovski owns the franchise record for playoff points by a FLA rookie (1-8-9, 1996).
Carter Verhaeghe has produced points in two of three playoff contests (1-1-2). Winning the 2020 Stanley Cup with TBL, Verhaeghe posted five points (3-2-5) in five games against the Lightning during the 2020-21 regular season. Including regular season games, Verhaeghe has produced points in three of his last four games played (2-1-3).
Patric Hornqvist tallied his first playoff goal as a Panther with a PPG marker in Game 3 at TBL. Playing in his seventh consecutive postseason, Hornqvist’s Game 3 goal was his 23rd tally in that span (69 GP). Hornqvist has played in 93 career playoff games, winning two Stanley Cup championships with PIT (2016, 2017). He scored the Cup-clinching goal in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. He has amassed 22 points (11-11-22) over 28 career regular season games vs. TBL.
Gustav Forsling and Radko Gudas each recorded multi-point games (1-1-2) and their first career playoff goals in Game 3 at TBL. Forsling and Gudas recorded the second instance of Panthers defensemen scoring their first playoff goals in the same game (Mike Weaver and Jason Garrison, April 17, 2012 at NJD). Each defender posted a +3 rating becoming two of only four FLA defensemen to post a +3 rating in a playoff game. Forsling’s goal at 16:53 of the third period was the latest tying goal in franchise history, besting the previous mark of 16:32 set by Marcel Goc in Game 7 of the 2012 ECQF vs. NJD (April 26, 2012). Brandon Montour ranks second on FLA with 11 shots on goal, while MacKenzie Weegar leads the Cats with 23:17 average TOI per game through the playoffs.

FLA-TBL CONNECTIONS

FLA defenseman Radko Gudas was selected by TBL in the third round (66th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. He played 126 games for TBL (2012-13 to 2014-15), producing 32 pts (7-25-32).
FLA defenseman Anton Stralman played 355 games for TBL (2014-15 to 2018-19), amassing 130 points (29-101-130). Stralman went to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final with TBL, recording 10 points (1-9-10) over 26 games during the 2014-15 Stanley Cup playoffs.
FLA forward Carter Verhaeghe played 52 games for TBL (2019-20), notching 13 points (9-4-13). He won the 2020 Stanley Cup with TBL, producing two assists over eight postseason games.
FLA forward Nikita Gusev was selected by TBL in the seventh round (202nd overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft.
FLA goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (2013-14 to 2016-17), FLA forward Alex Wennberg (2014-15 to 2016-17) and FLA defenseman Markus Nutivaara (2016-17) were teammates with TBL goaltender Curtis McElhinney on CBJ.
FLA defenseman Anton Stralman was teammates with TBL defenseman Ryan McDonagh on NYR from 2011-12 to 2013-14, including an appearance in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
FLA goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was teammates with TBL goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and TBL forward Nikita Kucherov on Team Russia at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
FLA defenseman Brandon Montour was teammates with TBL forwards Anthony Cirelli and Mathieu Joseph on Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Championships, earning Silver Medals.
FLA forward Nikita Gusev was teammates with TBL goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and TBL forward Nikita Kucherov on Team Russia at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championships, earning Silver Medals.
FLA defenseman Radko Gudas won the 2012 Calder Cup while playing for Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, winning alongside present-day TBL forwards Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat, as well as TBL GM Julien BriseBois, Head Coach Jon Cooper and Goaltending Coach Frantz Jean.
TBL Head Coach Jon Cooper served as Assistant Coach on Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey which included FLA defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
FLA defenseman Anton Stralman and TBL defenseman Victor Hedman were teammates on Team Sweden at the 2017 IIHF World Championships, earning Gold Medals.
FLA forward Anthony Duclair and TBL forward Brayden Point were teammates on Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships, earning Gold Medals.
FLA forward Nikita Gusev, TBL forward Nikita Kucherov and TBL goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy were teammates on Team Russia at the 2019 World Championships, earning Bronze Medals and at the 2012 World Junior Championships, earning Silver Medals.
FLA forward Carter Verhaeghe and TBL forwards Barclay Goodrow and Gemel Smith share the hometown of Toronto, Ontario.
FLA forward Owen Tippett and TBL forward Mitchell Stephens are cousins and share the hometown of Peterborough, Ontario.
FLA forward Alex Wennberg and TBL defenseman Andreas Borgman and Fredrik Claesson share the hometown of Stockholm, Sweden.
FLA goaltender Philippe Desrosiers and TBL defenseman David Savard share the hometown of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.
FLA forward Scott Wilson and TBL goaltender Spencer Martin share the hometown of Oakville, Ontario.
FLA Senior Advisor to the General Manager Rick Dudley served as General Manager of TBL from 1999-00 to 2001-02.