Aleksander Barkov injured as Panthers edge Lightning to take 2-0 series lead: Takeaways

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TAMPA, Fla. — In a battle of Hall of Fame goaltenders, Sergei Bobrovsky had the last laugh.

Bobrovsky stopped all 19 shots he faced while propelling the Panthers to a dramatic 2-0 victory in Game 2 of the Battle of Florida.

The Panthers, having strolled into Tampa and winning both games to begin the series after a sluggish conclusion to the regular season, are two home victories away from sweeping their biggest rival.

A Nate Schmidt goal early in the first period was the only offense Bobrovsky would require.

Sam Bennett scored an empty net goal with three seconds remaining to put away the victory.

It was a slow-paced game that didn’t produce an enormous amount of scoring opportunities, but Bobrovsky was forced to make a few dynamic saves, and he was true to the task.

Bobrovsky stopped a golden Brayden Point opportunity on the game’s first shift and denied him twice late in regulation as the Lightning frantically attempted to tie the game.

There once was a time in Bobrovsky’s career when he was unable to master the postseason. Those days are long, long gone.

Barkov leaves after nasty hit

Captain Aleksander Barkov left the game in the third period, and looked disoriented while doing, after absorbing a violent hit from Brandon Hagel.

Hagel was assessed a five-minute interference penalty midway through the third period. While Hagel didn’t leave his feet on the play and didn’t hit Barkov from behind, the puck wasn’t close when the hit was made.

Jon Cooper voiced his displeasure with the call, as one might expect.

“I didn’t expect them to call it a five. But at least we did a great job of killing it off,” Cooper said postgame.

That it was an interference penalty is undeniable. The puck wasn’t close and it was a violent hit against an unsuspecting player.

I personally didn’t have a problem with the call.

Brandon Hagel has been given a 5-minute major for this hit on Aleksander Barkov pic.twitter.com/xn6RQcTqS2

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 25, 2025

Guentzel not so great

Jake Guentzel was Tampa Bay’s best player in Game 1, but it was a night to forget in Game 2 for the player who is almost always at his best in the postseason.

The star winger had two glorious chances in the first period, only to miss the net on each occasion.

Guentzel was also guilty of two penalties, both of which were of the unnecessary variety. He plays a huge role on the Lightning power play, but that unit was stymied by the stingy Panthers’ penalty kill.

Early in the first period, Cooper made a significant line change, bumping Guentzel to the top line alongside Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov.

Whether at even strength or on the power play, the big guns for Tampa never seemed to get on track. Guentzel, so active and impressive in Game 1, was very much held in check.

Anthony Cerelli is able to play

There was legitimate concern in Tampa on Thursday about the availability of Cerelli, one of the most indispensable members of the Lightning.

The center left early in the second period of Game 1 and never returned. He didn’t practice the next day, nor was he present at Thursday’s morning skate. Suffice it to say, Cerelli can’t possibly be operating at 100 percent.

The No. 2 Tampa Bay center did indeed play and produced quite a jolt through the crowd when he was announced in the starting lineup.

There wasn’t anything noticeably wrong with Cirelli as he managed to finish the game intact. He was dominant in the faceoff dot all evening and dished out a number of thunderous hits, finishing with 4 for the evening.

Like the rest of Tampa Bay’s big guns, he simply never found a way to beat Bobrovsky.

Schmidt is it … again

Schmidt is a fairly accomplished puck-moving defenseman, but it should be noted that he registered only five goals in 80 games during the regular season, his first with the Panthers.

In two postseason games with Florida, Schmidt has three goals.

Nate Schmidt has his THIRD goal of the series and the first goal of Game 2 😱 pic.twitter.com/gpJZbbFcbk

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 24, 2025

Schmidt beat Andrei Vasilevskiy on a one-time early in the first period for his third goal in four periods of this series.

One of the problems in dealing with Florida in a playoff series is the Panthers’ depth. It jumps out at you in all directions and in the case of Schmidt, Florida is receiving loads of offense from a player that wasn’t really expected to provide it.

Schmidt, on his fifth NHL team, has always been a smoother skater and a solid defenseman at the NHL level. He certainly seems to have found a home with the Panthers.

For Vasilevskiy, it was the one that got away

The good news for the Lightning is that Vasilevskiy, their all-world goaltender, clearly found his game after Tampa Bay fell behind in the first period.

He was at his best in the second period when he robbed Seth Jones, who was neatly fed by Evan Rodrigues. He later denied Sam Bennett, who took a feed from Brad Marchand on a point-blank opportunity.

Vasilevskiy stood tall, keeping his Lightning in the game.

Still, one can’t get over the goal he allowed to Schmidt. Just 48 hours removed from one of the worst playoff outings of his career, Vasilevskiy allowed a very pedestrian goal on the second shot of the evening.

(Photo: Mark LoMoglio / NHLI via Getty Images)

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