Apr 22, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates after he scored a goal on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Matthew Tkachuck returned to action for the Florida Panthers and provided an instant offensive spark as he scored twice, with both goals coming on the power play, as the visitors shocked the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 6-2 victory. Florida had just 16 shots on goal, but put 6 of them past Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning’s power play struggled as Florida scored on all three opportunities, needing just 2:41 of ice time to score three times with the extra skater.
It was the road team that opened the scoring as Sam Bennett bunted home a waist-high pass from Mackie Samoskevich less than four minutes into the game.
Sam Bennett (Mackie Samoskevich) 1-0 Panthers
The Lightning were able to equalize the game as they connected on their first power play opportunity of the game. It was Jake Guentzel finding the back of the net. Sergei Bobrovsky wasn’t able to corral a shot from Nikita Kucherov and Guentzel was at the side of the net to tuck it home.
Jake Guentzel (Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman) Power Play, 1-1
Just as it looked like the two teams would head into the locker room with the score knotted at one, the Panthers won a face-off and a battle along the boards. A shot from the point was deflected not once, but twice, with Sam Reinhart getting the final touch on the puck before it went past Vasilevskiy.
Sam Reinhart (Dmitry Kulikov, Carter Verhaeghe) 2-1 Panthers
While the first period was disappointing, the second period was disastrous. It started with Anthony Cirelli leaving the game after just shifts in the middle frame and not returning to action. Then an onslaught of goals. The Panthers forecheck forced a turnover by the Lightning defense and a shot on net led to a rebound that Nate Schmidt cashed in on as he crashed in from the slot.
Nate Schmidt (Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett) 3-1 Panthers
The Lightning challenged for interference, but the officials could find no evidence of it so the goal was upheld and Tampa Bay was short-handed. It didn’t take long for them to capitalize. The Bolts were caught out of position and Tkachuk was left all alone in front of Vasilevskiy. He had enough time to deke the goaltender before sliding the puck home.
Matthew Tkachuk (Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov) Power Play, 4-1 Panthers
Chasing the Panthers is tough enough, doing it while short-handed is just about impossible. Midway through the period, Florida was on their third power play, and once again, it didn’t take long for them to find the back of the net. After an initial attempt was stopped by Vasilevskiy, he lost track of the puck and the play and stood up. He wasn’t aware that the puck had dropped right to Tkachuck and the son of Keith, brother of Brady, wisely shot it at the net and bounced it off of the goaltender.
Matthew Tkachuk (unassisted) Power Play, 5-1 Panthers
The Lightning got one back prior to the end of the period as Brayden Point snapped home a feed from Ryan McDonagh to breathe some life into the stunned crowd. On the goal, Gage Goncalves picked up his first career playoff points.
Brayden Point (Ryan McDonagh, Gage Goncalves) 5-2 Panthers
An early goal in the third period could have sparked a comeback, but it wasn’t to be. Not only did the Lightning not score, but they conceded yet another goal. Nate Schmidt fired one from the point that a screened Vasilevskiy wasn’t able to track.
Nate Schmidt (Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov) Power Play, 6-2 Panthers
Despite a couple of power plays down the stretch, the Lightning weren’t able to cut into the lead as Florida held on. Surprisingly, the game ended without too much in the way of extracurricular activities. The Panthers picked up the all important road win while the Lightning will have to shake it off and find a way to execute their game plan better in Game 2 on Thursday.
