Florida on Thursday held its own during the time it played without Barkov. The Panthers held the Lightning to just three shots on goal in the third period, including just two in that 10-plus minute stretch with Barkov sidelined to keep the game at 1-0 until Sam Bennett sealed the game with an empty-netter with 3.4 seconds left in regulation.

Barkov left after he was hit away from the puck by Tampa Bay forward Brandon Hagel at 9:51 of the third. Hagel was assessed a major penalty for the hit, which caused Barkov to stay down on the ice for a bit before being attended to by Florida's medical staff.

Nate Schmidt scored his third goal in two games, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

The Florida Panthers opened defense of their Stanley Cup title with a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night in the first game of the first-round playoff series.

The Florida Panthers outlasted the Tampa Bay Lightning in a physical bout to win 2-0 and go up 2-0 in the series. They took both games in the Lightning’s barn with a chance to take a commanding lead on home ice.