And by the midway point, the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers had run away with Game 1. The Lightning allowed five goals on Florida’s first 11 shots, sucking the energy out of the building and losing the home-ice advantage Tampa Bay had worked for in an eventual 6-2 loss.

Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk, who missed the last 25 games of the season due to injury, scored a pair of goals in his return as Florida beat Tampa Bay in Game 1 of the opening round.

TAMPA -- Matthew Tkachuk will be a game-time decision for the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena (8:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, SCRIPPS, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360) on Tuesday.