Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt has personally outscored the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first two games of their Eastern Conference First Round series. His third goal in two games proved to be the game-winner for the defending Stanley Cup champions in their 2-0 victory at Amalie Arena on Friday night.
The Panthers lead their in-state rivals 2-0 in the best-of-7 series, which shifts to Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.
Schmidt scored twice on Tuesday in Florida's 6-2 series-opening victory. His third of the series came 4:15 into the game on a shot from above the right circle that caught the top far corner past Andrei Vasilevskiy .
The Lightning had the better of the scoring attempts – they finished with a 9-2 edge in high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick, and had five power plays . However, just 19 of their 61 shot attempts actually got to the net, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all of them. Sam Bennett 's empty-netter with four seconds left sent the Panthers home looking for a sweep after becoming the only team in the first round this season to win the first two games on the road.
Vasilevskiy was much sharper than in Game 1. Schmidt's goal was the only one of the 22 shots he faced to get past him – a huge contrast from the series-opener, when he allowed six goals on 17 shots.
But his fellow countryman Bobrovsky was flawless — and got plenty of help from his teammates, who blocked 20 shot attempts. The Bolts also misfired on a number of Grade A chances, with Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel each missing the net early in the first period after being left alone in front of the net. Bobrovsky's best saves came on a wide-open chance by Point late in the second period and an open slap shot from the right circle by J.J. Moser early in the third.
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To say that the Lightning face a must-win situation entering Game 3 would be an understatement. Teams that go down 0-2 in a series are 56-353; those that lose the first three games have won just four of 211 series.
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Schmidt scored five goals in 80 regular-season games. Seeing him become sixth defenseman in NHL history to score three times in his team's first two games of a playoff year – and the first since Hockey Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings in 1995 — is a shocker, to say the least.
His three goals have come on just four shots, and two of them were game-winners.
The Panthers signed Schmidt as a free agent last summer after losing Brandon Montour in free agency. He finished with 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) and averaged 16:32 of ice time, playing mostly in a third-pair role. He's actually played even less against the Lightning, averaging just 15:20 in two games.
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Nikita Kucherov has won three NHL scoring championships, including this season and last. He's the player who makes the Lightning's offense go, especially on the power play. But he and his teammates have produced just two goals in the first two games.
Kucherov looked frustrated Friday, when the Lightning failed to generate a shot on goal on two third-period power plays. He attempted eight shots in Game 2, but just one got through to the net – three were blocked and four missed completely.
The Lightning, who finished fifth in the NHL on the power play during the regular season, were 0-for-5 and managed just two shots on goal in 9:13 with the man advantage. In all, the Lightning have managed just 41 shots on goal through the first two games.
The news wasn't all good for the Panthers. Their captain and first-line center, Aleksander Barkov, was injured 9:51 into the third period when he was sent flying into the end boards by Tampa Bay's Brandon Hagel , who was assessed a major penalty for interference.
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Barkov received medical attention on the ice, was helped off to the locker room and didn't return.
The Panthers managed to fend off the Lightning for the final 10:09 without their captain. But losing him for Game 3 (and possibly beyond) would be a major loss. Barkov plays in all situations – even strength, power play and penalty-killing. He also takes key face-offs – he won the draw that led to Schmidt's goal.
Coach Paul Maurice had no update on Barkov's condition or availability for Game 3.
