The NHL's Eastern and Western Conference No. 1 seeds are back in action Thursday for the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But while the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche have that in common, the stakes for each of their Game 2s couldn't be more different.
Florida entered Thursday's Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in must-win mode after dropping Game 1 by a score of 4-1 on Tuesday. Tuesday's game was locked at 1-1 after the second period, but the Lightning struck with three goals in the final frame to take the air out of FLA Live Arena.
Colorado handled business on Tuesday, beating the fourth-seeded St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime. Defenseman Josh Manson scored the game-winning goal at 8:02 of overtime, and it was quite the memorable one considering it was also his first ever playoff goal. Both teams' goalies have been outstanding this postseason, as Colorado's Darcy Kuemper entered Thursday's game ranking second in goals against average (1.67), while the Blues' Jordan Binnington is fourth in goals against average (1.94) and third in save percentage (.944)
Game 2: Lightning 2, Florida 1
With the game tied 1-1 in the final minute of the third period, it seemed overtime was inevitable -- until Ross Colton delivered Panthers fans one of their worst memories yet. The 25-year-old center got the puck past Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with less than four seconds remaining to give the Lightning a 2-0 series lead. Nikita Kucherov made a remarkable no-look pass to set up the goal, which is here in all its glory:
While a last-second loss is always heart-breaking, Florida suffered this one despite having a 37-27 advantage in shots on goal. Bobrovsky and Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy were both impressive, posting save percentages of .926 and .973, respectively.
Tampa Bay's Cory Perry recorded the game's first goal at 12:06 of the first period, and Florida scored an equalizer at 18:07 of the second courtesy of Eetu Luostarinen.
It was a quiet game for Florida's Carter Verhaeghe, who recorded zero points despite coming into the contest tied for second in in these playoffs with 12. This was Verhaeghe's second consecutive game without a point. The Panthers are now 0-4 this postseason when Verhaeghe scores fewer than two points; they're 4-0 when he records at least two.
Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos left for the locker room and returned to the game three times, showing the grittiness that made him a team captain. He'll now enjoy an extended rest before Game 3, as that is set for Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET in Tampa.
Game 2: Blues 4, Avalanche 1
After their nail-biting overtime loss on Tuesday, the Blues evened their series with the Avalanche at 1-1 on Thursday thanks to an excellent performance from David Perron. The 33-year-old scored two goals in the Blues' 4-1 victory, bringing his postseason total to seven -- tied with Edmonton's Evander Kane and Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov for the second most in the league this year.
This was Colorado's first loss of the 2022 postseason.
Neither team scored in the first period, but St. Louis jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second after goals from Jordan Kyrou and Perron. Perron scored his with 36 seconds left in the period, and it wouldn't be his only timely strike.
Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog cut St. Louis' lead to one with a goal at 1:49 of the third period to give his team a chance late. But with roughly 10 minutes to go, Perron scored his second goal of the game to all but close it. Blues left wing Brandon Saad scored an empty-net goal at 18:10 of the third, adding an exclamation mark to his team's impressive win.
Binnington was outstanding for St. Louis, stopping 30 of the 31 shots that came his way. Kuemper made 28 saves in his first loss of the 2022 postseason.
With the series locked at 1-1, the Blues and Avalanche will meet in St. Louis for a crucial Game 3 at 8 p.m. ET.
