5 Takeaways from Lightning vs. Panthers Game 2

5. Florida’s physicality fails to bear fruit

It was clear from the start that Game 2 was going to have a different tone than Game 1 when the Panthers opted to start Ryan Lomberg. And if that wasn’t a clear enough sign then Ondrej Palat nearly being checked into the benches in the opening seconds of the game was there to clear up any confusion.

In total the Panthers would deliver 52 hits to Lightning players during the game – a significant increase from the 30 hits they threw at the Bolts in Game 1.

From Tampa’s perspective, I think it was very encouraging to see that the team looked completely unphased by this uptick in body contact. Retaliation penalties were not an issue and their control of the puck in all three zones looked consistent throughout. If the Panthers are going to get back into this series, simply throwing more hits is not going to cause this experienced team to come unhinged.

4. Corey Perry’s insertion into the top power play unit has been seamless

One consideration of Brayden Point missing the start of this series due to injury was going to be how the Lightning would fill his bumper position role and production on the power play.

So far Corey Perry has been up to the task, and he came through in a big way tonight with the opening goal of the game. Steven Stamkos found Perry’s stick for a redirect into the net on a play that looked like the first-year Bolt, and top power play fill-in, was anything but.

After converting 40% of their power play opportunities in last season’s series against the Panthers, the Lightning have picked up right where they left off with a 44.44% conversion rate with four goals on nine power play opportunities through two games this series. With a power play goal in each game thus far, Perry is doing his job of picking up any lost power play scoring from Point being out of the lineup.

3. Dressing 7 defensemen is proving to be a necessity

We had a feeling the Lightning would opt to dress seven defensemen in Brayden Point’s absence, but we could not have predicted the attrition the Bolts’ blue line would face to begin the series.

Multiple right-defensemen, including Erik Cernak and Cal Foote, missed time in Game 1 due to blocking shots.

For Game 2, Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak both took trips down the tunnel in the first period after blocking shots to the face before ultimately returning to the bench for the beginning of the second period. Even then Cernak would require additional attention on the bench multiple times throughout the remainder of the game.

For now, the Lightning are handling the occasional absence of one of their defensemen with ease as the additional defenseman dressed makes splitting up the ice-time relatively easy, but that could change if one or more of the short-term injuries that require a locker room visit become long-term concerns that keep them entirely out of games.

2. Lightning’s championship pedigree on full display with shot blocking throughout the lineup

When the range of players willing to sacrifice their body to block a shot goes from a true defensive defenseman like Erik Cernak all the way up to Steven Stamkos – 106-point scorer in the regular season – then you know a team is fully committed to winning at all costs.

Most notably Cernak, Hagel, Sergachev, and Stamkos had to make trips down the tunnel for repairs before ultimately returning to the game after putting their bodies on the line to block a shot.

Corey Perry did not record a blocked shot during the game, but we’ll give him an honorable mention for taking a puck to the face in warm-ups and still making the start of the game with a fresh gash above his right eye.

1. Nikita Kucherov has us speechless again

For the Lightning’s leading playoff scorer this postseason, the Florida Panthers have proved to be a fertile feeding ground. After making Aaron Ekblad look like a confused traffic cone in Game 1, Nikita Kucherov made Mackenzie Weegar pay for chasing him behind the net and not covering his man – Ross Colton – in the dying seconds of the third period.

Colton, the Lightning’s leading goal scorer in this year’s playoffs, was not going to be denied after Kucherov’s brilliant backwards pass from behind the net.

We said that if the Lightning were going to threepeat this season that Kucherov was going to have to be the difference maker offensively for the Lightning, and this play to prevent overtime and send the series back to Tampa with the Bolts up 2-0 is exactly what we are looking for.