In Tampa, the Florida Panthers entered Game 4 on Monday night needing a win to extend their season.
They went 0-for-49 on shots on goal, and 0-for-3 on the power play.
As a result, the Panthers lost, 2-0, in the game, and were swept by the Lightning in four games.
“I thought it was the best game we played as a 60-minute game,” Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. “Looked like us. I’m not sure if our backs were that far off the wall and there was no pressure, but we played like we played all year tonight, and that wasn’t always the case in the other nine (playoff) games, where we showed flashes of it, but the 60-minute game at that pace looked like us.”
The President’s Trophy winners for the regular season were a dismal failure in the playoffs.
“It’s special to be a part of this group,” Lightning forward Alex Killorn said. “Like I said with ‘Vasy,’ I think there’s a lot of players on this team that will go down as some pretty good players, Hall of Fame players. So I’m just happy to be a part of it, to be honest.”
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 49 shots from the Panthers for the shutout win.
“Nothing special really,” Vasilevskiy said. “I think the way the whole team plays in those games, the whole series, constant blocked shots, sacrifices, the boys clearly breaking bones to stop the puck. Such a great effort by everybody on our team. Obviously, it’s not just me. I am just trying to do my job the best that I can.”
Pat Maroon scored at 6:16 of the third period to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead.
“To sit here and think we’re in the (same) breath of the greatest teams that have played this game and the amount, because that’s when you’re really measured, right?” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “What do you do in the playoffs, and to win 10 series in a row, and what does that put us top three all-time.”
Tampa had two goals waved off after video review, Killorn and Nikita Kucherov scored for naught.
“It’s a special group, no doubt,” the Lightning’ Steven Stamkos said. “The beauty of the group is that we’re not satisfied. We want 12 straight [series].”
It was inconceivable as the season came to an end that the Panthers would not advance to at least the Eastern Conference Final. In two short weeks they were exposed for incompetence, a failed offense, and lack of coverage in the defensive zone.
“We were in a good position going into the third period, a 0-0 game,” Maroon said. “We still had an opportunity to win, and we just had to find a way to squeak one by, and we did. Obviously it was an ugly goal, but that’s playoff hockey for you.”
Florida was 1-for-31 on the power play in the playoffs.
“Tonight, I thought we did a really good job of enforcing the game plan that we set out to for tonight,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “Obviously, it just wasn’t enough. We got our chances. We just didn’t capitalize on those scoring chances that are so dire.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow. Getting swept is tough. It hurts. It stings. There’s no doubt about it.”
Tampa awaits the winner for the Carolina Hurricanes – New York Rangers second round series, for the Eastern Conference crown.
Ondrej Palat added an empty net goal at 19:37 to ice the win.
“These goals are coming off the board, and then even the poor puck rolls on [Palat] at the end and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, now we got to kill a penalty on this with two and a half minutes left,'” Cooper said. “But you make your own breaks, and the guys did and literally, if that last penalty kill didn’t personify what’s gone on in our playoffs here, nothing does and, and incredible stuff to watch.”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves in the Panthers loss.
“They blocked shots,” Florida captain Aleksander Barkov said. “They play really desperate defense. They play really well, so it’s hard to get there. But like I said, we could have done a lot of things differently, but our effort was there every game.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.