The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently behind 0-2 in their series against the Florida Panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Tampa Bay lost 3-2 in Game 1 on April 21 and also in OT in Game 2 on April 23, both away from home. Now, they will play two games at home while being behind in the series, but the team has been in a similar position before.
When Tampa Bay reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2022, they were down 0-2 against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals. They then won four consecutive games to win the series. Therefore, defenseman Victor Hedman mentions that the team is relying on their past experience.
“It’s obviously not the ideal situation down 2-0, but like you said, we’ve been in this situation before. For us that were here for that, we kind of have to relay that message to the other guys,” said Hedman to the media on April 24. “It’s never over until it’s over and that’s the bottom line. It’s game by game. For us, it’s all about (Game 3). Don’t look too far ahead, learn from what happened the last two games and just look forward.“(Game 2) was a tough pill to swallow, but at the end of the day, today’s a new day, so we’re excited about that. We’re excited about coming home and playing in front of our fans. Just excited to go out there and play,” continued Hedman.
Despite being down 0-2 in the series and having their back against the wall, Hedman says the Lightning still have confidence they can win the series.
“There’s confidence in our group. It’s not ideal to be down 2-0, but that’s the cards we’ve been dealt. That’s how it is right now. We’re playing a great team that obviously took care of home ice. Now, we’ve got to go home and do the same thing. It’s very important for us not to look too far ahead. Just focus on the game tomorrow and make sure we get the job done,” Hedman added.
Game 3 is set to take place on April 25 at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
The Lightning are in good health for Game 3.
A positive aspect for Tampa Bay heading into Game 3 is that the team is not dealing with any injuries.
After morning skate on April 25, head coach Jon Cooper announced that everyone is ready to play.
During the morning skate on April 25, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Tyler Motte were all not present, but the coach assured that there is no cause for concern regarding any of them.
With everyone in good health, Cooper will need to make some decisions on the lineup. In Game 2, the coach chose not to include forward Tanner Jeannot and defenseman Nick Perbix.
Florida Panthers to be Without 2 Forwards in Game 3 Florida is facing key injuries as Sam Bennett.
will be sidelined for at least a week
the team announced after being hit by a shot on the hand in Game 2., Along with Bennett, forward Ryan Lomberg is out of the lineup due to an illness, coach Paul Maurice revealed. With the two forwards out of the lineup, trade deadline acquisition Kyle Okposo will be in the lineup.
“He’s very excited about the game,” Maurice said, via
. ” He will relish this, the opportunity. Serious pro, very detailed guy. He’s going to be all wired in for the game but there’s also going to be a piece of him that understands that there’s not 15 more seasons of playoffs ahead of him. This is something he needs to enjoy.”
last appeared in a playoff match on May 8, 2016 NHL.com, when he was part of the New York Islanders.
Okposo The Tampa Bay Lightning are trailing 0-2 in their initial playoff series against the Florida Panthers with their backs against the wall., while he was a member of the New York Islanders.
