What makes it especially frustrating was that the Panthers were the architects of their own downfall.
To start, despite the result, the Panthers’ performance was absolutely brilliant on the defensive end. Both Derek MacKenzie and Roberto Luongo – two reliable options the Panthers have at protecting their own net – came out of the game with injuries.
Despite that, the Panthers played faster on defense than Tampa did, saving their energy for controlling the puck in the Lightning’s zone, only to be stopped by a stellar Andrei Vasilevskiy 42 times.