SUNRISE (AP) — The first-ever playoff game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers could be tough to top. Or perhaps it’s just a taste of what’s to come in their opening-round Sunshine State series. The defending champion Lightning take a 1-0 lead into Game 2 Tuesday night at 8 p.m. in Sunrise.
The intrastate foes have met 142 times in the regular season, including eight games this season. But they’d never faced off in the playoffs until Sunday, when the Lightning won a physical, dramatic thriller, 5-4.
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“Very intense game,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said.