EETU BE KIDDING ME?

Sam Bennett scored what proved to be the game-winning goal late in the second period as the Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning and won their 2025 Eastern Conference First Round series. Eetu Luostarinen picked up his third assist of the game on the goal — each of them on go-ahead markers — and, along with a late goal of his own, became the first player in Panthers history with four points in a road playoff game. “He’s been great ever since he came to the Panthers and he’s a great guy to have around,” Aleksander Barkov said of his fellow Finn. “You see how much skill he has that maybe doesn’t always show up on the scoresheet. He kills penalties with his high hockey IQ, he’s really good on the forecheck … and today he got rewarded with four points. He has been very important for us since he got here, and he keeps getting better.”