Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1, Game 3 live updates: Panthers 1, Lightning 0, first intermission

Can the Florida Panthers go up 3-0 in their opening-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning?

They’re certainly going to try.

Game 3 of the best-of-7 series is at 7 pm Thursday, with puck drop from Tampa’s Amalie Arena scheduled for 7 pm

Florida won the first two games by identical 3-2 scores — winning Game 1 in regulation and Game 2 in overtime.

This is just the fourth time the Panthers have led a playoff series 2-0. Two of the other three came last season: Their second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs that they won in five games and the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes that they won in a four-game sweep. The other was the opening round of the 1996 playoffs against the Boston Bruins, which Florida won in five games.

Follow along for score updates, thoughts, commentary and analysis throughout the game.

First period thoughts

This was arguably the closest first period of the series. Tampa Bay appeared to have tied it up with about 17 seconds left on an Anthony Cirelli power-play goal, but the goal was disallowed after Florida successfully challenged that the Lightning was offside.

The Panthers still have 33 seconds left of a penalty kill to begin the third, which brings up Florida’s main drawback from the first period — it needs to stay out of the penalty box.

Yes, Florida’s penalty killing unit is elite, but so is the Lightning’s power play. If Tampa Bay gets enough opportunities, it will capitalize.

That said, some numbers:

▪ 50 total hits in the first period (26 Tampa Bay, 24 Florida)

▪ 14 blocked shots (seven each)

▪ 21 total shots on goal (11 Florida, 10 Tampa Bay)

Matthew Tkachuk gets things started

For the third time this series, the Panthers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period, with Matthew Tkachuk beating Andrei Vasilevskiy glove side from up close with 9:21 left in the first period.

While Tkachuk finished the play, the entire second line was fantastic in the buildup, with Carter Verhaeghe feeding Anton Lundell behind the net before the puck ultimately got to Tkachuk.

Tkachuk now has four points (two goals, two assists) in the series.

Early penalty kills from the Panthers

No score at the midway point of the first period and the game has been pretty even in the opening 10-and-a-half minutes. The Panthers have the early edge in shots on goal, 7-6, and had a nice effort on both of their penalty kills after Kyle Okposo was sent to the box for high-sticking Darren Raddysh and then Brandon Montour got called for hooking.

Overall, Florida is 8 for 10 on the penalty kill in the series.

Oh, and there are already 30 hits.

Lineups and other early notables

With Ryan Lomberg still out due to illness and Sam Bennett out for at least a week with an apparent hand/wrist injury, the Florida Panthers’ forward lines are changing once again.

Anton Lundell will move up to the second line to center Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe. Kevin Stenlund as a result will move up to center the third line with Eetu Luostarinen and Evan Rodrigues on the wings.

Florida’s fourth line will now have Steven Lorentz at center with Kyle Okposo and Nick Cousins on the wings.

For Okposo, who is in his 17th NHL season, this will be his first playoff since May 8, 2016.

“He’ll be fired up,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Okposo. “Your appreciation for the game grows as you get older. I don’t think now players, as they get older, don’t get more cynical. They appreciate it. He had this smile that I cannot describe. He is very excited about this, he will relish this opportunity. He is a serious pro, a very detailed guy. He will be wired into the game, but he understands that there are not 15 more seasons of playoffs ahead of him, this is something he needs to enjoy.”

Some other quick notables:

▪ Forward Vladimir Tarasenko is playing in his 100th career NHL playoff game.

▪ Lomberg traveled to Tampa Bay and could be available for Game 4 on Saturday.