CBS Miami · May 18, 2021
Intensity From The Outset In Sunshine State Playoff Series
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – The first-ever playoff game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers could be tough to top.
Or perhaps it’s just a taste of what’s to come in their opening-round Sunshine State series. The defending champion Lightning take a 1-0 lead into Game 2 Tuesday night (8 p.m. EDT, CNBC) in Sunrise, Florida.
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The intrastate foes — they’ve never really been rivals — have met 142 times in the regular season, including eight games this season. But they’d never faced off in the playoffs until Sunday, when the Lightning won a physical, dramatic thriller, 5-4.
“Very intense game,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. “There was a lot going on out there.”