The Florida Panthers opened up play beautifully, attacking from the very start to dictate the tempo. Because of their resilient pressure, the Cats got on the scoreboard first.
As Quinn Hughes was looking to dish the puck as he was skating backwards, Vincent Trocheck threw a hit and caused a turnover, dishing the puck over to Noel Acciari who would proceed to snap a shot past Thatcher Demko.
Less than two minutes later and the Panthers struck again. This time, Colton Sceviour broke down the ice on an odd-man rush, feeding Mark Pysyk who would tip home his third of the year to give the Panthers a two-goal lead.