Ice hockey | Aleksander Barkov with a top hit in the opening of the playoffs – an easy victory for Florida

Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 at home on Sunday night and grabbed an important first tie for the playoff spot in a hotly anticipated first-round playoff series.

The big hero of the evening was Florida's skipper Alexander Barkovwho scored two goals for Florida.

Pre-work especially Carter Verhaeghen The 2–1 lead in the third period was impressive. Verhaeghe sneaked with superiority to the back post behind the backs of the Lightning defenders, where Barkov served a precise pass.

The local match progressed for two sets with equal marks, but in the third set the home team Panthers came with a rush and dominated the field events. Shots went to Florida 14–9 in the final set and 28–19 in the entire match.

of Florida Matthew Tkachuk nailed the readings to 3-1 in an empty pit a couple of minutes before the end of the match, and the Lightning Steven Stamkos embellished the readings about eight seconds before the final buzzer.

Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made a few top saves in the third period when the Lightning pressed on at times.

Tampa's opening goal was scored Brandon Hagel. Florida's opening goal was scored by Sam Reinhart Gustav Forslingin ja from Barkov's passes.

Florida has never beaten Tampa Bay in a playoff series. The teams also met in the playoffs in the spring of 2022 and 2021.

This time, the Panthers entered the series as early favorites and one of the championship candidates. Lightning's dynasty, on the other hand, is on the wane. The Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021.

Saturday night three more matches will be played. The shootout between the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals starts at 10 p.m.

The Winnipeg Jets and the Colorado Avalanche will meet at two in the morning Finnish time, the Vancouver Canucks and the Nashville Predators at five in the morning.