Following Loss, Florida Panthers Need to ‘Circle the Wagons’

SUNRISE — Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice has often said he doesn’t attach much substance to the often-used term “momentum.”

He believes that when the puck drops, it’s a brand-new game.

He has to hope this will be the case Monday when his Panthers play Game 4 against the Lightning.

Somewhere around the middle of the first period Saturday, the momentum — real or imagined — shifted to the Lightning with the thud of a bowling ball rolling off a table.

The Lightning beat the Panthers 5-1 in a game closer than the final score would indicate.

Same could be said for Florida’s 6-2 win in Game 1.

This is a tight series.

It has not been a pretty series, however.

On Saturday afternoon, Tampa Bay scored five unanswered goals in yet another ugly game in this first-round series that puts the Lightning right back in the chase.

The win also removes the ‘commanding’ from the Panthers hold on this best-of-7 series after Florida won the first two in Tampa.

“Learned a lot from this game,’’ Sasha Barkov said after the loss. “Obviously, we had a great start, we did the right things but they’re a great team also. They played really well and won the game today. All we are going to do from this game is learn.”

Maurice and Jon Cooper are great opponents.

They can go head-to-head in any category, from matching lines to matching quips.

With his team down 0-2 despite a close loss on Thursday, Cooper referred to Saturday’s game as a “circle the wagons” moment after the subject of Brandon Hagel being suspended for his third-period hit on Barkov Thursday was broached.

The Panthers now need to close the ranks in an attempt to regain momentum in a series they still, no offense to the Lightning, still control.

Florida, like Tampa Bay, have an X-factor when it comes to potential lineup moves for the next game out.

Matthew Tkachuk may or may not be available for the next game.

Tkachuk nailed Jake Guentzel at center ice moments after he fed Anthony Cirelli for what would be the empty-net goal that made it a 5-1 game.

The blindside hit drew a 5-minute major for interference.

It was a similar play to the one which landed Hagel a suspension, although unlike Barkov the game before, Guentzel did not get popped in the chin.

Guentzel actually touched the puck which led to the hit.

Regardless, Cooper responded to his ‘circle the wagons’ comment postgame when it came to his team’s ability to fight back and produce an effort worth the watch.

If you thought the Lightning were washed after Thursday’s loss, Cooper wants you to know he was not.

“You would have never known, sitting in the locker room after Game 2, that we were down 0-2,” Cooper said on Saturday afternoon.

“And so, riding into this game, it wasn’t going to guarantee the result, but I knew damn well how the effort was going to be. And they delivered.’’

Indeed.

Monday will be time for the Panthers to react.

If they could take any solace in Saturday’s performance, it is that they outshot and outhit the Lightning and were 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.

Florida has now killed off 12-of-13 in the series.

Yet, there was a little something off with the Panthers in Saturday’s matinee.

“I thought how we moved the puck slowed our game down,’’ Maurice said. “One tell is when you’re getting 27 shot blocks, you’re late getting it off your stick or into the hole so that’s a number that is important. …

“We’ve got lots of room to get better. I’m sure they do too, so I’m not feeling today like there’s an aberration to how I thought this would go. This is going to be a grinder straight through.”

Maurice downplayed the physicality of the game.

Once again, the total number of penalty minutes did not account for the constant after-the-whistle pushing and shoving.

“I thought it was really, really quiet,” Maurice said, perhaps with tongue-in-cheek. “There was some chirping but even that was minor.”

To paraphrase Jimmy Buffett, come Monday, expect anything.

You have two good teams well equipped for physical play who are desperately trying to get the advantage in the series.

By beating the Panthers on Saturday, the Lightning made this a series.

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.