The Florida Panthers dominated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs series, fueled by Matthew Tkachuk’s electrifying return. The star forward, sidelined since February with a lower-body injury, tallied two power-play goals and an assist, igniting Florida’s offensive surge
Sam Bennett opened the scoring just 3:44 into the first period, but Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel answered with a power-play goal to tie it The Panthers regained control late in the period on Sam Reinhart’s deflection, then exploded in the second with three goals—including Tkachuk’s back-to-back strikes—to seize a 5-1 lead Nate Schmidt added two goals, including a third-period power-play marker, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves
Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy struggled, stopping just 10 shots before being pulled in the third. Brayden Point scored late for the Lightning, but defensive breakdowns and failed challenges plagued the home team “We have to stop that bleeding,” Lightning captain Victor Hedman admitted after the loss
Game 2 shifts back to Amalie Arena on Thursday, with the Panthers aiming to extend their momentum in the Battle of Florida rivalry
