The Florida Panthers have had far from the easiest road in the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs despite coming into them as the #1 seed. And that road got even harder on Thursday evening as they saw the Tampa Bay Lightning snatch victory away moments before overtime was on the cards. The Lightning scored the game-winner in a 2-1 win with just four seconds to go as Ross Colton was left free to hammer home, giving them a 2-0 advantage as the series heads to Tampa.
Corey Perry had started the scoring for the hosts in the first period via a power play but Florida leveled in the second through Eetu Luostarinen. That seemed to have set up OT, but that wasn’t meant to be, and now the Panthers are in a major hole to the two-time defending champs. Elsewhere, the St. Louis Blues put in a much better performance in Denver as they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 to even up their series. Having lost in OT in Game 1 despite being dominated, the Blues came out and delivered this time as they showed off new strategies and combinations with their lines. David Perron scored twice for them while Jordan Binnington made 30 saves to ensure they didn’t head back to the Midwest without an even series.
