The Florida Panthers got off to the perfect start as forward Evgenii Dadonov opened the scoring eighteen seconds in. Keith Yandle threw a shot from the point, which Dadonov redirected in to give the Panthers the early lead.
Florida received the first power play of the game shortly after but were unable to capitalize on the opportunity as the Blue Jackets defended strongly.
Throughout the remainder of the opening frame, the Jackets really limited the Panthers’ scoring chances while blocking any shots that came their way. The Cats were finding it rather difficult to create anything meaningful, unable to find time and space in the high-danger slots.