FHN Today: Florida Panthers get deserved day off

Good morning, Florida Panthers fans.

How was your Saturday?

Fantastic.

The Panthers seemed to enjoy themselves yesterday with Jonathan Huberdeau posting a video on his Instagram of driving down A1A on a golf cart with Sam Bennett riding shotgun.

Fun stuff.

The Panthers get back to work this morning with a practice at the IceDen (they are still closed to the public) as they prepare to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 2.

Coach Andrew Brunette joked (?) a few times this season that watching the Lightning led to a lot of sleepless nights — so lets hope he got his rest in before the Lightning bested the Leafs in Game 7.

No word on the schedule for Round 2 yet. When I know, you’ll know.

PANTHERLAND

The Panthers’ series win against the Capitals was a long time coming for a number of core players — including Huberdeau, Sasha Barkov and Aaron Ekblad.

— Claude Giroux had himself another big game on Friday night.

— Ryan Lomberg has been called the ‘heartbeat’ of the Panthers and he had a big impact upon getting back in the lineup for Game 6.

— Friday night was fun, eh?

— Well, early on it wasn’t as Ekblad and Ben Chiarot briefly left following big hits.

— Carter Verhaeghe was a game-time decision for the Panthers on Friday. Good thing he played, huh?

— A lot of content on YouTube from Friday night including postgame with Huberdeau, Barkov, Giroux, Lomberg and Andrew Brunette is on the FloridaHockeyNow YouTube channel.

My live pre- and postgame shows are also up.

Check it out — and if you like what you see on the YouTube page, please subscribe!

THUNDERDOME

It was a big night for the Lightning in Toronto on Saturday night as Nick Paul scored twice and left the rest to Andrei Vasilevskiy as the Bolts pull out a 2-1 win.

— Brayden Point was hobbled early on Saturday night. He tried to come back but couldn’t go. This will be something to watch moving forward.

— Are curses real? Perhaps in Toronto.

— The Lightning took the first step in what they hope is a long postseason.

— Meet your Lightning beat writers on Twitter (in no order): @EddieInTheyard; @Erik_Erlendsson; @JoeSmith; @faiello_mari

END OF CAP CENTER

Alex Ovechkin dropped an F-bomb in his postgame press conference Friday night after losing to the Panthers in overtime.

Sounds like he wasn’t too happy.

— T.J. Oshie says the Caps have some reflecting to do as they had plenty of opportunities against the Panthers.

— Here is how Washington Hockey Now saw Game 6 unfold…

— The Washington Post writes the Caps’ postseason story is missed opportunities.

— We will catch up with the Capitals next season.

AROUND THE NHL

The Raleigh arena was rocking as Carolina kept this homer series going by ending the Boston Bruins season with a 3-2 win.

Did we see the final game by Brad Marchand?

— The Edmonton Oilers are on their way to the second round after surviving against the Kings.

— The Pittsburgh Penguins have no business winning Game 7 today against the Rangers but, hey.

— The Calgary Flames could not win Game 6 in Dallas so we’ll have a Game 7 at the Saddledome tonight.

— Bruce Boudreau is no longer the ‘interim’ coach of the Vancouver Canucks as he was named the permanent coach. Is Andrew Brunette next?

— Comparisons between the 2001 Colorado Avalanche and this current bunch, anyone?

— Five questions facing the Vegas Golden Knights this offseason.

NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS 

PANTHERS V. LIGHTNING

• Game 1: TBA
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise   
• TV/Streaming: National TV TBA (ESPN or TNT/TBS)
• Radio: WQAM 560 (Miami/Fort Lauderdale); WMEN 640 (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3 (Florida Keys); SiriusXM 
• Tickets: CLICK HERE
• Full schedule: TBA

PANTHERS V. LIGHTNING

• Regular season series — Tied 2-2: Florida 4, @Lightning 1 (Oct. 19); @Lightning 3, Florida 2 OT (Nov. 13); @Florida 9, Lightning 3 (Dec 30); Tampa Bay 8, @Florida 4 (April 24).
• All-time regular season series: Panthers lead 73-49-18, 10 ties
• Playoff history: Second meeting; Tampa Bay d. Florida 4-2 in R1, 2021
• Round 1 — Florida d. Washington 4-2 — Game 1: Washington 4, @Florida 2; Game 2: @Florida 5, Washington 1; Game 3: @Washington 6, Florida 1; Game 4: Florida 3, @Washington 2 (OT); Game 5: @Florida 5, Washington 3; Game 6: Florida 4, Washington 3 (OT).
• Round 1 — Tampa Bay d. Toronto 4-3