The NHL playoffs are in full swing, and two teams have secured victories in their respective series. The Florida Panthers and the Dallas Stars both came out on top in their games, with the Panthers taking a 2-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Stars evening their series with the Seattle Kraken at 1-1.
The Panthers took on the Lightning in Game 2 of their series on Tuesday night, and it was a hard-fought battle from start to finish. The game was tied at 1-1 after the first period, with goals from Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau and Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point. The Panthers took the lead in the second period with a goal from Sam Bennett, but the Lightning tied it up again with a goal from Ondrej Palat.
In the third period, it was all Panthers. They scored three unanswered goals, with goals from Anthony Duclair, Huberdeau (his second of the game), and Frank Vatrano. The Lightning tried to mount a comeback, but it was too little too late, and the Panthers secured a 5-2 victory.
The Panthers have been one of the surprise teams of the NHL this season, finishing second in the Central Division with a record of 37-14-5. They are led by Huberdeau, who had 61 points in the regular season, and Aleksander Barkov, who had 58 points. They also have a solid goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky, who had a .906 save percentage in the regular season.
The Lightning, on the other hand, are the defending Stanley Cup champions and were expected to be one of the top teams in the NHL again this season. They finished third in the Central Division with a record of 36-17-3. They are led by Point, who had 48 points in the regular season, and Nikita Kucherov, who missed the entire regular season due to injury but returned for the playoffs.
In the other game on Tuesday night, the Stars took on the Kraken in Game 2 of their series. The Kraken won the first game 5-3, but the Stars bounced back with a 5-2 victory in Game 2. The Stars got off to a fast start, scoring three goals in the first period, with goals from Joel Kiviranta, Jason Dickinson, and Jamie Oleksiak.
The Kraken tried to mount a comeback in the second period, with goals from Marcus Johansson and Jaden Schwartz, but the Stars held on for the victory. They added two more goals in the third period, with goals from Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov.
The Stars finished fourth in the Central Division with a record of 23-19-14. They are led by Joe Pavelski, who had 51 points in the regular season, and Tyler Seguin, who missed most of the regular season due to injury but returned for the playoffs. They also have a solid goaltender in Anton Khudobin, who had a .905 save percentage in the regular season.
The Kraken are an expansion team and finished fifth in the Pacific Division with a record of 23-28-7. They are led by Schwartz, who had 51 points in the regular season, and Jordan Eberle, who had 33 points. They also have a solid goaltender in Philipp Grubauer, who had a .923 save percentage in the regular season.
Overall, both the Panthers and the Stars have put themselves in good positions in their respective series. The Panthers will look to continue their strong play against the Lightning in Game 3 on Thursday night, while the Stars will try to take the lead over the Kraken in Game 3 on Friday night. It should be an exciting rest of the playoffs for both teams and their fans.
