It had been three weeks since the Florida Panthers had lost a game, but they seem to be handling Saturday’s Game 4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning quite well.
Coming home to Sunrise for Game 5 — and the chance to end this best-of-7 series on home ice — probably plays a big role in their collective attitudes.
The Panthers were jumped from the get on Saturday, with Tampa Bay star defenseman Mikhail Sergachev coming back from major leg surgery whipped the sold-out Amalie Arena crowd into a frenzy.
Sergachev had been out since fracturing his tibia and fibula in a game at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 7; being in warmups Saturday created a major buzz.
Being announced in the starting lineup almost blew the roof off the building.
“In a normal introduction, you hear all the players’ names,’’ coach Jon Cooper said Saturday. “There will be a cheer, then it gets to Vasilevskiy’s name, and there is a massive cheer. [Saturday], I could not hear the PA guy say Vasilevskiy’s name.
“The roar [on Sergachev’s introduction] just kept going on and on. All the guys on our bench got up. It was a stirring moment. I thought we carried that right into the first period.”
Tampa Bay parlayed that action into three first-period goals and a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Florida made a valiant comeback, but never got closer than a goal away.
Tampa Bay will be again playing for its season tonight, but it will not have the fuel its home crowd gave it on Saturday evening.
The Panthers do not have any surprise players returning — could Roberto Luongo lead the team out in warmups? — but are back where they want to be.
Florida has won its past six games at home, including a four-game homestand to close out the regular season, and are ready to make that seven.
A win tonight and the Panthers have a couple days to rest and wait for the Boston Bruins to finish off the downtrodden Maple Leafs in that opening-round series.
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