Locking it down for the remainder of the period, the Panthers closed out Game 1 with a 6-2 win.

“We put together a good game,” said Bobrovsky. “The whole team played great. They grinded, they worked hard, they were focused, so it’s a big one for us.”

THEY SAID IT

“We’re happy about the result and we’re getting ready for the next one.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on the team’s mindset after the Game 1 win

“There’s a lot of things that go into it and that’s the way our game was tonight.” – Nate Schmidt on the team’s performance

CATS STATS

– Matthew Tkachuk recorded his fourth career multi-goal game in the playoffs.

– Sam Bennett scored his fifth opening goal in the playoffs for the Panthers, the most in team history.

– Aleksander Barkov went 14-for-18 in the faceoff circle.

– Twelve different Panthers recorded at least two hits.

– Seth Jones logged a team-high 23:43 of ice time.

– Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 of 18 shots at 5-on-5.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Game 2.

The Panthers will look to go up 2-0 against the Lightning on Thursday at Amalie Arena at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Join us at the Official Game 2 Watch Party! For more information, click HERE.