In a pair of two- and five-minute spans, the Tampa Bay Lightning had their chances of advancing out of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Florida Panthers diminish greatly.
Down 3-1 to their in-state rivals in their best-of-seven series, the Lightning return home in a must-win situation in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
With the Lightning ahead 2-1 on the scoreboard and looking to sweep both road games just like the Panthers did in Tampa, coach Jon Cooper’s squad needed to finish off the final 3:47 to bring the series back to the Gulf Coast in a 2-2 deadlock with Game 5 and perhaps Game 7 on its ice.
However, in a span of 2:07, Florida’s Aaron Ekblad tied it off a defensive breakdown, Seth Jones floated in the go-ahead tally just 11 seconds later and Carter Verhaeghe sent one into an empty net to put the Panthers in the driver’s seat in the first win by a home team.
“Both teams had two (stretches) of 11 seconds that were really rewarding,” said Cooper, who got goals from Mitchell Chaffee and Eric Cernak 11 seconds apart in the second period. “Unfortunately, theirs came at the end with not a lot of time left.”
Both clubs set franchise records for the fastest two goals in their playoff histories.
“For 115 minutes, we passed every test possible,” Cooper said. “And we just had a tough 11 seconds there at the end of the game. … We played well enough to win both games.”
The game began to turn on Tampa Bay’s five-minute major power play after Florida’s Niko Mikkola was given a game misconduct for boarding Zemgus Girgensons just 19 seconds into the third.
The home side’s defense clamped down in the crucial moment, allowing just one shot on goal to the Lightning’s vaunted power-play unit that ranked fifth overall at 25.9 percent efficiency in the regular season.
The Lightning are 1-for-15 on the power play through four matches, while Florida is 5-0 in series after winning three of the first four games.
“I think the one thing you see in the room with the group is just the level of calm throughout the game,” said Panthers winger Brad Marchand, who assisted on Anton Lundell’s marker in the first period. “Belief is a dangerous thing, and we had that. … We know Tampa is going to throw everything here in the next game, and we have to be prepared.”
Ekblad leveled Lightning forward Brandon Hagel by delivering a hard forearm up high in the second period. Woozy, Hagel headed to the dressing room for concussion protocol and did not return. Ekblad, who was not penalized on the play, received a two-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Cooper gave a Hagel update for Game 5, saying, “He is not playing (Wednesday), so there it is and you know why.”
Skating in his second game following a 20-game PED suspension, Ekblad scored once but had it overturned due to an offside challenge by Cooper and his staff before netting the late tying goal off a rebound.
However, it was Ekblad not drawing a penalty on the Hagel hit that angered the fuming Cooper afterward.
“It’s getting tiresome answering questions about a hit every single game, so I’ll ask you,” Cooper shot back to a reporter. “You asked me the question. Why do you ask me the question? Do you have anything to say about it? If anybody in here has something, let me know. All right, let’s move on.”
–Field Level Media
