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The Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves down 0-2 in their series against the Florida Panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Tampa Bay lost Game 1 3-2 on April 21 and 3-2 in OT on April 23, with both games being on the road. The Lightning now return home for two games as Tampa Bay finds themselves in a hole in the series, but it’s nothing the team hasn’t faced before.
During Tampa Bay’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2022, the Lightning went down 0-2 against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Tampa Bay won four straight games to win the series, so defenseman Victor Hedman says the team is relying on their past experience.
“It’s obviously not the ideal situation down 2-0, but like you said, we’ve been in this situation before. For us that were here for that, we kind of have to relay that message to the other guys,” Hedman said to the media on April 24. “It’s never over until it’s over and that’s the bottom line. It’s game by game. For us, it’s all about (Game 3). Don’t look too far ahead, learn from what happened the last two games and just look forward.
“(Game 2) was a tough pill to swallow, but at the end of the day, today’s a new day, so we’re excited about that. We’re excited about coming home and playing in front of our fans. Just excited to go out there and play,” Hedman continued.
Despite being down 0-2 in the series and having their back against the wall, Hedman says the Lightning still have confidence they can win the series.
“There’s confidence in our group. It’s not ideal to be down 2-0, but that’s the cards we’ve been dealt. That’s how it is right now. We’re playing a great team that obviously took care of home ice. Now, we’ve got to go home and do the same thing. It’s very important for us not to look too far ahead. Just focus on the game tomorrow and make sure we get the job done,” Hedman added.
Game 3 is set to take place on April 25 at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
Lightning Healthy Going Into Game 3
A bright spot for Tampa Bay going into Game 3 is the fact the team is healthy.
After morning skate on April 25, head coach Jon Cooper told the media everyone is available to play.
In the morning skate on April 25, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Tyler Motte were all absent, but according to the coach, there is nothing to worry about for any of them.
With everyone healthy, Cooper will have to make some lineup decisions, as in Game 2, the coach opted to scratch forward Tanner Jeannot and defenseman Nick Perbix.
Panthers to be Without 2 Forwards in Game 3
Florida enters Game 3 dealing with some key injuries, as Sam Bennett will be out at least a week, the team announced after being hit by a shot on the hand in Game 2.
Along with Bennett, forward Ryan Lomberg is out of the lineup due to an illness, coach Paul Maurice revealed.
With the two forwards out of the lineup, trade deadline acquisition Kyle Okposo will be in the lineup.
“He’s very excited about the game,” Maurice said, via NHL.com. ” He will relish this, the opportunity. Serious pro, very detailed guy. He’s going to be all wired in for the game but there’s also going to be a piece of him that understands that there’s not 15 more seasons of playoffs ahead of him. This is something he needs to enjoy.”
Okposo last played in a playoff game on May 8, 2016, while he was a member of the New York Islanders.
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