FLORIDA PANTHERS vs. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
ROUND 2, GAME 1
MAY 17, 2022
FLA Live Arena – Sunrise, Fla.
| FLORIDA PANTHERS | TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING |
| 1 | 4 |
PANTHERS POSTGAME QUOTES
Forward Anthony Duclair
On Florida’s power play:
“…We’ve got to stick with it. We’ve got so much talent, so much depth on our power play, a lot of guys that can shoot the puck. I think if we keep shooting and getting traffic on net it’s going to go in eventually.”
On Florida’s team play during the first two periods tonight:
“We had the lead almost the whole game, had a couple chances and they put it right back in our net. For us, we know how to win against this team, we have done it before, and we’ve just got to play with the puck more.”
Defenseman Gustav Forsling
On Florida’s five-on-five play tonight:
“I think we had them right where we wanted pretty much the whole game. Five-on-five, I think we were the better team. We’ve just got to stay out of the [penalty] box and keep it going.”
Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette
On what to take from Game 1:
“I was happy with our game. [On Tampa Bay] Just the little things with their game is what they do so well, that’s why they’ve won a couple of cups and been through this so many times, it’s that little face off, it’s shorthanded trying to score of out nothing, it’s special teams… it’s all these little things that they excel at. We’re still learning. Again, unfortunately we’ve got to learn again tonight and we’ll be better next game.”
CATS STATS
- Anthony Duclair tallied his first career NHL playoff goal, and registered two shots on goal. Duclair is the 12th different Panthers skater to score a goal this postseason.
- Jonathan Huberdeau notched an assist on Duclair’s goal for his fourth point of the playoffs (1-3-4). Over his last seven playoff games vs. TBL, Huberdeau has amassed 11 points (2-9-11).
- With his assist tonight, Huberdeau has now recorded 20 career playoff points (5-15-20), tied with Aleksander Barkov for the most in franchise history.
- Brandon Montour posted his third assist of the postseason (0-3-3). He has registered 11 assist over 34 career playoff games.
- Ben Chiarot led Florida with four blocked shots. He leads the club with 15 blocks this postseason.
- MacKenzie Weegar and Noel Acciari paced the team with five hits each.
- Aleksander Barkov posted a team-high five shots on goal, won 14 of his 21 faceoffs (67%) and led team forwards with 23:05 time on ice.
- Earlier today, Barkov was named a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the second consecutive season. He was the first Panthers skater in club history to win the award in 2020-21.
- Florida’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, advanced to Round 3 of the AHL Playoffs last night with a 4-0 win over Bridgeport. They will now face off against Florida’s prior affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, in the Atlantic Division Finals.
LOOKING AHEAD
Next up for the Cats — The Panthers will hold an 11 A.M. practice tomorrow, May 18 at FLA Live Arena. Select skaters and Panthers Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette will speak to the media following practice.
