Stanley Cup playoffs live updates: Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning, Game 5
Can the Florida Panthers close out their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday?
The Panthers are up 3-1 in the best-of-7 series and need just one more win to advance to the second round and get to the next step toward defending their Stanley Cup title.
Puck drop from Amalie Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 nationally and Scripps Sports locally.
Follow along throughout the game for live updates, news, analysis and commentary.
Panthers advance to second round
Florida scored twice in the third period while Sergei Bobrovsky and the defense held Tampa Bay in check as the Panthers rolled to a 6-3, series-clinching win.
The Panthers will face either the Toronto Maple Leafs or Ottawa Senators in the second round.
Here’s the instant recap, with more to come later tonight.
4 points for Luostarinen
Eetu Luostarinen gave the Panthers an insurance goal with 6:58 left to play. That’s his fourth point of the game.
Panthers lead after two
The Panthers take the 4-3 lead into the second intermission.
Sergei Bobrovsky was massive in the frame despite giving up the power play goal. He stopped 12 of 13 Lightning shots in the period, including two back-to-back from Erik Cernak and Gage Goncalves about five minutes into the frame off the rush. The Lightning had nine scoring chances, including four high-danger chances in the frame and Bobrovsky held strong in net to help the Panthers preserve the lead.
Also worth noting: Eetu Luostarinen has three assists tonight.
Nate Schmidt to the room
Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt being looked at after getting hit in the mouth. He was slow to get to the bench and went to the room briefly before returning.
Panthers kill penalty, take lead
The Panthers took the 4-3 lead on a Sam Bennett goal immediately after he came out of the penalty box for a slashing penalty. Anton Lundell had the puck near center ice as Bennett’s penalty ended and they capitalized on a two-on-one as they entered the Lightning zone.
4:47 left in the middle frame.
Tampa ties it on the power play
Jake Guentzel scored on the power play to tie the game at 3-3 with 10:03 left in the second. The Panthers had killed off 15 consecutive penalties before that this series.
Barkov gives Florida the lead back early in the second
Aleksander Barkov tipped in a Gustav Forsling shot 52 seconds into the second period to give Florida a 3-2 lead.
It’s worth noting Forsling has been stellar so far tonight. He had a great diving stop on the Panthers’ penalty kill late in the first and is now producing on the offensive end.
Also: Eetu Luostarinen has two assists already tonight.
Still tied after one period
The Panthers and Lightning head into the first intermission tied 2-2. Florida has a 16-8 edge in shots on goal and did a good job of controlling possession throughout the frame.
It was an entertaining opening 20 minutes.
Aaaaaaaaand Tampa ties it
Tampa Bay’s Nick Paul scored from the slot to tie the game at 2-2 with 7:47 left in the first.
That’s four total goals on 14 shots on goal between the two teams.
Third line gives Florida a lead
Anton Lundell scored from up close to give Florida a 2-1 lead with 9:54 left in the first. His linemates, Eetu Luostarinen and Brad Marchand, did great work to set up the goal.
The fact that this trio is Florida’s third line is yet another reminder of the team’s depth, which will be critical for a deep playoff run.
Tied up with a power-play goal
The Panthers tied the game 5:21 into the first on a Carter Verhaeghe power-play goal.
It’s the first special teams goal of the series since Game 1. Florida was 0 for 10 on the power play the past three games while Tampa Bay has gone 0 for 12 in that span.
Lightning strike first
Tampa Bay opens the scoring on a goal by Gage Goncalves 2:33 into the game.
It’s 1-0 Lightning over the Panthers — and the first time this series Florida did not score the first goal.
Pregame lines and pairings
The Panthers’ lineup during pregame rushes looked as follows
Forward lines
Carter Verhaeghe-Aleksander Barkov-Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues-Sam Bennett-Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell-Brad Marchand
A.J. Greer-Nico Sturm-Jesper Boqvist
Defense pairs
Gustav Forsling-Seth Jones
Niko Mikkola-Dmitry Kulikov
Uvis Balinskis-Nate Schmidt
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
The Lightning, meanwhile, are once again going with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Their lineup...
Forward lines
Jake Guentzel-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov
Gage Goncalves-Anthony Cirelli
Conor Geekie-Nick Paul-Yanni Gourde
Zemgus Girgensons-Luke Glendening-Mitchell Chaffee
Defense pairs
Victor Hedman-J.J. Moser
Ryan McDonagh-Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg-Nick Perbix
Darren Raddysh
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
Series schedule
▪ Game 1 — Panthers 6, Lightning 2: Matthew Tkachuk scored twice in his first game with the team since early February and the Panthers suffocated the Lightning to win the series-opener.
▪ Game 2 — Panthers 2, Lightning 0: Sergei Bobrovsky logged a 19-save shutout — the fourth playoff shutout of his career — and Florida got goals from Nate Schmidt and Sam Bennett to secure the win.
▪ Game 3 — Lightning 5, Panthers 1: Matthew Tkachuk opened scoring less than three minutes into regulation, but the Lightning took over the game from there, taking advantage of Florida’s defensive miscues and riding a solid outing from goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to get their first win of the series.
▪ Game 4 — Panthers 4, Lightning 2: The Panthers scored two goals in 11 seconds late in the third period to take the lead for good and extend the series lead to 3-1. Defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones tallied those goals, while Florida also received scores from Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe.
▪ Game 5: Tonight
▪ Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, May 2, time and TV TBD, Sunrise’s Amerant Bank Arena
▪ Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday, May 4, time and TV TBD, Tampa’s Amalie Arena
Pregame reading
Need to catch up ahead of Game 5? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage — plus a look at Panthers coverage elsewhere — over the past few days.
▪ ‘Belief is a dangerous thing’: How the Panthers rallied to take a 3-1 series lead over the Lightning
▪ Panthers were ‘Comeback Cats’ in Game 4. They haven’t done that much this season
▪ Aaron Ekblad has been suspended for his hit on the Lightning’s Brandon Hagel
▪ Florida’s trade deadline acquisitions are making their presence known in the playoffs
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 6:30 PM.
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