NHL Round 2 Game 2 Thursday May 19, 2022 at 07:00 pm ET
Florida entered Game 1 as a -160 favorite on the moneyline, and a serious contender for the Stanley Cup. Tampa Bay entered Game 1 as a team that everyone believed would be exhausted after its series against Toronto, as well as playoff fatigue from the previous two seasons. So of course the Lightning walked into Sunrise and won the game convincingly by a score of 4-1. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised as the Lightning walked into Florida and took both games on the road in last year’s series as well. Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was the difference maker as the Russian superstar goaltender made 34 saves against one of the most potent offenses in the NHL. His fellow countryman in the opposing goal, Sergei Bobrovsky, made 32 saves in a good, but not great, performance.
Instead, Florida’s special teams unit was a no-show in Game 1, going 0 for 3 on the power play while also allowing Tampa to score three power play goals. So far in the playoffs, Florida is a combined 0 for 21 with the man advantage. So what do the Panthers need to do in Game 2? Tampa Bay is not going to get rattled, they proved that against Toronto and in every series in each of the past two seasons. The Panthers need to get into Vasilevskiy’s space and provide enough distractions to the goalie to get an ugly goal on the power play. Florida's offense needs its confidence back, and most of all Bobrovsky needs to steal them a game. I wouldn’t count on it as Tampa Bay seems to have their number. Take the Lightning to make it a 2-0 lead on Thursday night.
Buddy M.
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