FLORIDA PANTHERS vs. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
GAME 5
MAY 24, 2021
BB&T Center – Sunrise, Fla.
| FLORIDA PANTHERS | TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING |
| 4 | 1 |
- The Panthers won their first playoff game on BB&T Center ice since April 15, 2016 vs. NYI.
- Spencer Knight made his playoff debut, becoming the youngest Panthers goaltender (20 years, 35 days) to start a playoff game in club history, and the youngest goalie in NHL history to win a game in his postseason debut while facing elimination.
- Knight is the sixth-youngest goalie at the time of his first career start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He is the fifth-youngest goalie to win a playoff game, and the second-youngest goaltender to record a win in their playoff debut (Don Beaupre, 19 years 202 days).
- Knight is the first goalie to play in the IIHF U20 World Junior Championship, NCAA tournament, and Stanley Cup Playoffs in the same season. He is undefeated in his five NHL starts.
- Knight is the youngest goalie to record at least 36 saves in their playoff debut. His 36 saves are the fourth-most by a goalie making their playoff debut before their 21st birthday.
- After surrendering a goal on the Tampa Bay’s first shot of the game, Knight stopped all 36 shots he faced.
- MacKenzie Weegar scored his first career playoff goal and added an assist (1-1-2). He is the third Panthers defenseman to record multiple points in a game this series (Gustav Forsling and Radko Gudas, 1-1-2 each, Game 3 at TBL).
- Weegar also led FLA with a +3 rating.
- Mason Marchment scored his second goal of the series. He is the first Panthers rookie to record multiple goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He led FLA forwards with seven hits.
- Jonathan Huberdeau recorded two assists, his fourth multi-point performance of the series. His 10 points (2-8-10) in the series vs. TBL is a franchise record for most points in a playoff series.
- Tonight represented Huberdeau’s third consecutive multi-point playoff game (1-6-7), tying Reilly Smith (3GP in 2016) for longest such run in club history.
- Aleksander Barkov notched two assists, his second multi-point effort of the series. He has logged at least one point in all five games of the series (1-6-7), and he has produced at least a point in each of FLA’s past eight postseason games (2-8-10).
- Barkov won 14 of his 22 faceoffs (64%).
- Patric Hornqvist posted two points (1-1-2), his second multi-point performance of the series. He has amassed five points (2-3-5) over his past three games.
- Sam Bennett registered an assist, his fifth point (1-4-5) of the series.
- Four different Panthers recorded multiple points (Barkov, Huberdeau, Hornqvist, Weegar).
- Radko Gudas led FLA with 11 hits.
- Tampa Bay’s 22 shots in the first period represented the most shots allowed in a period by the Panthers in either the regular season or postseason this year.
PANTHERS POSTGAME QUOTES – MAY 24, 2021
Head Coach Joel Quenneville
“I think [goaltender Spencer Knight]’s whole career coming up to joining us this year gave you every indication that he’s capable of doing it, now it’s an opportunity. When he did play for us right off the bat, his composure gave you every indication that he’s capable of handling any kind of situation.”
“I thought [defenseman MacKenzie Weegar] had a great last 40 minutes, obviously scoring the goal helped. He had a lot more composure with the puck. Weegs is coming on this year, he had a tremendous season, kept getting better.”
“Marchy [forward Mason Marchment] can play in different spots, he brings energy and I thought he had a heck of a game tonight as far as being competitive on the puck. Scores a big goal. He’s been very effective.”
Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar
“[Goaltender Spencer Knight] was a rock back there. We were excited to play in front of him. He’s got that calm demeanor to him. I think he just went out there and had fun and enjoyed the crowd, he brought momentum to our team and hopefully we can keep this thing going with him there.”
“One game at a time here. We’re going into a tough building, they play well at home. We’ve got to keep the momentum on our side and play our best game.”
“(The crowd) was absolutely unbelievable, the crowd was absolutely electric tonight. They did a big part tonight, keeping us in the game, really giving us momentum. It was by far the best arena I’ve ever been in since I’ve been here. It was awesome to see, they’re the best fans in the league. Hopefully we can come back here for a Game 7 and win in front of them.”
“I had an absolutely riot out there, I had a blast. We’re going to be all smiles tonight but in the morning we’re going to be all business and get back on track here because we’ve got a big Game 6 coming up.”
Forward Aleksander Barkov
“It was an awesome atmosphere, awesome feeling. We were excited to play, and a good result too. We’re excited to go to Tampa right now.”
“(Goaltender Spencer Knight) was huge, we were excited for him to get in our net. We trust him, he’s confident and calm in the net. He has a lot of fun there. We enjoy that, we enjoy playing in front of him. He was really good today…He won the game for us.”
“(The crowd) felt like at least 24,000. It was awesome, our fans are the best. It was so much fun to play. We’re excited and we want to keep this thing going, we want to play in front of them all the time. So let’s keep doing this.”
Forward Mason Marchment
“I think we just kind of bought into playing a full team game and locking our defensive zone down. Defense to offense. Barky made a great pass to me there, great game all around.”
“For me it’s not really about personal success, it’s just about winning games. Everyone’s got to do their role and do what they’re best at. I just try to do what I’m best at and get pucks for Barky [forward Aleksander Barkov] and Hags [forward Carter Verhaeghe] and get open for them.”
Goaltender Spencer Knight
“Once one went in you just kind of reset and go, ‘Well, this is how it’s going to go. You can’t do anything to change it. Let’s play now.’ That’s how it was.”
“I just approached it like I did every other game, like I did my first game and second game here. I was a little nervous but I just remembered that I was playing hockey, just try to control what I can and have fun.”
“I’m not really thinking much about the score, what I’ve given up, what’s coming at me. I just kind of react and just remember that I’m playing hockey, regardless of whether it’s practice, regular season games, or playoff games. To me, it’s all just hockey and I approach it the same, and have fun. Don’t think about the result, detach from it, and have fun in the moment.”
“Honestly, when the game was over it was pretty cool. To me, I have the same satisfaction of winning a playoff game as a regular-season game. It’s not about what moment you’re in. It’s about the accomplishment you had as team.”
“I forgot what it felt like to have a crowd like that. The first two games of the playoffs were pretty loud considering that the previous games weren’t as full, but yeah it was awesome. It was fun to play in. It’s something that you take in and soak in, you don’t play to the crowd but you play for them and you just try to have fun and enjoy it, because it is a cool atmosphere to play in. It’s something that everyone has missed over the past year and a half and we’re working the right way to get it right so that we can have full crowds and hopefully it stays that way.”
