SUNRISE, FLA. (WSVN) - The Florida Panthers are off to a roaring start in the National Hockey League playoffs as they notched a 1-0 win over the weekend.
But on Tuesday, they look to defend the home ice again and hope to take a 2-0 series lead against their in-state rivals Tampa Bay Lightning.
7News cameras captured the Panthers playing a skate around as the team understand their gameplay must be crisp to secure the 2-0 lead.
“I think it’s a new game. They are going to hit the reset button over there and I’m sure, you know, try to come out harder than they did last game. So, we come out and do what we did in Game One, I think, you know, we’ll be pretty good,” said Panthers Forward Evan Rodrigues.
On Sunday, the Panthers won a 3-2 game against the Lightning, beginning their 2024 Stanley Cup playoff run in front of a sold out crowd.
“We have amazing fans, we want to use them because they’ve been awesome all year,” said Panthers Defenseman Gustav Forsling.
The team’s head coach described what he believes will give his team the advantage going in to Tuesday’s game.
“Both teams are going to look, how do we generate more? How do we get more time in there? And how do we create a little bit more without opening their game up? And I think that’ll be the challenge tonight. It just means at the end of the day, just skate faster,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice.
Maurice said his team was going to keep it loose on the ice.
The Panthers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last year so the team will be banking on that experience.
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