Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers ended with a victory for the road team at AMALIE Arena. Despite the Lightning overcoming an early one-goal deficit, Florida scored four straight goals—including three in the second period—to take a 6-2 win.

The Panthers out-hit the Lightning by a 48-28 count. They particularly made their presence felt in the first period when they were credited with 19 hits to only nine for the Lightning. If Jon Cooper is concerned about what the Panthers did to his team physically, he’s not letting on.

After missing the last two months of the regular season with a lower-body injury, Tkachuk opened the 2025 postseason with a dominant two-goal performance.