Florida Panthers in a Series Now; Pens Coaching Change

FORT LAUDERDALE — The old adage is that a playoff series doesn’t truly begin until the home team loses a game. The Florida Panthers are in a series now.

Of course, the Panthers took home ice advantage away from the Lightning by not only winning Game 1, but Game 2 as well.

The Panthers are in good shape going into tonight’s Game 4 with a 2-1 lead in the series.

Only the Lightning stuck their foot in the door with Saturday’s win and have wedged their way in.

The Panthers are going to try and jam that door closed a little more tonight.

“You learn so much more after you lose a game,” Paul Maurice said. “That’s the key piece in giving yourself a chance to winning a series.”

Said Carter Verhaeghe: “Some games, you feel like you’re the best in the world; in others games, the worst in the world. The key is finding a balance, having an even keel. We’re an experienced group, have been here a few times.”

FLORIDA PANTHERS / FHN

• Jon Cooper trolled Maurice in his postgame comments on Saturday. Maurice and his wife laughed when they saw them later that night during another playoff game. This series does have everything, including coach chirps.
• A day after Brandon Hagel was suspended a game for dropping Sasha Barkov in Game 2, Tkachuk put a shoulder into Jake Guentzel in the third. The NHL did not go through with any further action.
• The Lightning are excited to get Hagel back tonight.
• Aaron Ekblad’s return after missing seven weeks of NHL action did not come easy.
• Cooper said his team needed to ‘circle the wagons’ after Hagel was suspended after a second home loss. This is the Panthers chance to do the same.
• The Panthers did have Barkov back for Game 3.
• The Lightning gave a vintage performance against the Panthers on Saturday.
• Subscribe to the FHN YouTube channel to hear from the Florida Panthers throughout the postseason. Sunday’s videos: Maurice, Verhaeghe, and Ekblad. More today both before and after Game 4.

NHL NEWS / NHL LINKS

• The Pittsburgh Penguins have parted ways with Mike Sullivan, opening the door for the Rangers to nab what we hear is their top choice.
  The Montreal Canadiens are now in big trouble down 3-1 to the Capitals. But their future looks pretty bright.
• The New Jersey Devils are on the brink of elimination as well.
• Connor Hellebuyck has not been good in St. Louis, and now the Jets-Blues series is tied going back to Winnipeg. He needs to be a lot better.
• The Wild love its situation going back to Vegas tied at 2.

2025 NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND: GAME 4

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING @ FLORIDA PANTHERS 

Panthers Lead Best-of-7 Series 2-1

• When: Monday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• National TV: ESPN
• Streaming: Panthers+
• Radio: WAXY 790-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Series Schedule — Game 1: Florida 6, @ Tampa Bay 2; Game 2: Florida 2, @ Tampa Bay 0; Game 3: Tampa Bay 5, @ Florida 1; Game 4 at Florida: Monday, 7 (ESPN/Scripps); Game 5 at Tampa: Wednesday (ESPN2/Scripps), 7:30; Game 6* at Florida: Friday, May 2 (TBA); Game 7* at Tampa: Sunday, May 4 (TBA).
• Regular Season Series: Tied 2-2
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 79-53-19, 10 ties
• All-Time Postgame Series: Tampa Bay Leads 2-1 (won 2021 first-round, 2022 ECS); Florida d. Lightning 4-1 in 2024 first-round.

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