Lightning aim to build off strong start on Thursday in Game 2

The Tampa Bay Lightning have performed well in Game 2s since making their first ever postseason appearance during the 1995-96 season.
The Bolts are 23-10 all-time in Game 2s and have won their last eight Game 2s. On the road, Tampa Bay holds an all-time record of 9-3 in Game 2s.
History is on the Bolts' side, for now, as they will look to take a 2-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.
The Lightning are 7-1 all-time in the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and have won all five of their Second Round series under head coach Jon Cooper. Additionally, the Bolts have gone on to win 12 of 14 best-of-seven series when they have taken a 1-0 lead.
With all that being said, it's just a 1-0 lead. There's still a long way to go for Tampa Bay, but it was a great start on Tuesday night, especially with Brayden Point out of the lineup after suffering a lower-body injury in Game 7 of the Lightning's opening-round series against Toronto.

That wasn't the only injury hurdle the Bolts had to get over in Tuesday's Game 1. Erik Cernak left the game in the latter half of the second period after a big shot block on the penalty kill that may have saved a goal. Zach Bogosian was missing from practice on Wednesday as well, but Cooper believes both should be good to go on Thursday night. Cooper also confirmed that the Lightning will, unfortunately, not have Brayden Point in the lineup for Game 2.
Cernak's block on Tuesday night just plays into the entire theme of this Tampa Bay team: selflessness. It's an all-for-one and one-for-all mentality with this group. If a shot has to be blocked, it doesn't matter who it is, the Bolts are going to do whatever they can to block it.
"Does it get contagious? It does," Cooper explained on Wednesday. "God forbid you watch a guy go do it and then you have a chance to do it. You come to the bench, it's not a fun place to be if you're not going to be willing to do that.
"Guys get in line in that regard. That's been a history with us for a number of years now. It's kind of built into our culture.
"It's tough to come to the bench if you passed up doing that."
One player who has led by example in a big way in the shot blocking department is alternate captain Ryan McDonagh. A leader in every sense of the word, McDonagh has made the playoffs in every year of his 13-year NHL career.
On Tuesday night, McDonagh led all Tampa Bay skaters with four blocked shots. He now has 386 blocked shots in his postseason career, the most of any player in NHL history.
"Just a gutsy player," said Lightning forward Pat Maroon. "The fact that he brings it every single night on the PK, especially just putting his face in front of every puck, five-on-five [as well]. The way he takes care of himself away from the rink. The bruises on his body. I mean, it's just remarkable.
"His compete level and his sacrifice for the boys to lay it all out there, especially when there's 105 mile per hour slap shot and he's willing to eat the puck for the guys.
"He's an ultimate guy. He's a leader by example, on and off the ice. He can see the game pretty well too. He's got great hands, great vision, and he's got some offensive upside to him.
"He's got the total package that you guys want and you want on your team. That's a guy you want your team. He'll lay it all out there every single night, so we're definitely happy to have him on our team."
When player are giving everything they have and doing whatever they can to prevent the opposing team from scoring goals, the Bolts are such a difficult team to beat. With a defense-first mentality that Cooper preaches, goals are hard to come by against Tampa Bay.
If you are able to get past the Lightning's defense, your reward is trying to beat arguably the best goaltender on the planet in Andrei Vasilevskiy.
"We're with Vasy all the time and he's as competitive a person as I've ever met, in terms of really taking it personal when he gives up goals, which is obviously great," said Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos. "You want a guy that is going and battling and wants to be perfect. He wants perfection.
"The work that he puts in before the games, in practice, he's going to go out there and he's going to be rewarded for that. Sometimes he's probably too hard on himself, but I'd rather have a guy like that than a guy who doesn't care as much as he does.
"He's the best goalie in the world, we think, and he's proving it right now. We hope that continues."
In the Lightning's first series against Toronto, there were power plays left and right. The Leafs didn't use their fourth line very often either, so Tampa Bay's 'School Bus' line didn't get as much ice time as they probably would have liked.
Against a Florida team that likes to roll all four lines, you can expect to see the line of Maroon, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and Corey Perry a lot more in this series, especially if the Bolts continue to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen as they did in Game 1.
That line can bring a lot to the table for Tampa Bay and they showed it in Game 1, with each player recording at least one point. Perry and Maroon are so good at cycling the puck and using their strength below the goal line. Bellemare is always there to support the line defensively if they get caught down low.
Sometimes Bellemare doesn't get the credit he deserves, but on Tuesday he got rewarded with the game-winning goal. Bellemare became the second player born in France to score a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with his second tally of this year's postseason.
"Everybody's got different roles and, for us, that's a big part of our team," Cooper explained when talking about the 'School Bus' line. "We're able to lean on guys in so many different scenarios and with Belly, he can take draws on both sides, but his penalty killing has been outstanding for us and especially when we had to integrate some new guys in.
"He's basically been a stabilizer back there for us. He can play all positions. He's a pretty defensive-aware player and so he doesn't usually see the back of the net as much as some of the other guys, but when he does contribute like he did last night on that line, you could see the excitement that was not only with those guys, but through our team because they don't get the big minutes.
"They don't get the power play time. They get all this stuff, him especially, that you don't read in the paper, but he's willing to do it and that's what makes him such a team player.
"I think that's why teams have wanted him all through the years is because he kind of does all the unsung hero stuff and he's been great for us."
New to the Lightning organization this year, Bellemare has fit in seamlessly for Cooper and his staff. The core for Tampa Bay has remained the same over the years, but it's the pieces like Bellemare that compliment that core so well while bringing their own special attributes to the table.
"We've got a pretty good core in our room," said Cooper. "How is he going to fit in? Is there a passion to win or are you just playing out your career?
"We have found that there is an unbridled passion to win in that kid."
Winning.
That's what it comes down to for this Tampa Bay team. It's not about who scores. It's not about how many goals they score. It's not about who walks away with individual accolades and awards. It's all about winning. That's why this group has continued to succeed over and over again.
"I know everyone talks about the goals and stuff, but the last couple years, it's not like we're scoring six, seven, eight goals a game," Stamkos explained. "We have to rely on playing the right way and that's the sacrifice that we've seen with guys blocking shots.
"Obviously guys can still make plays, but just being smart with the puck and when you're playing teams of this caliber offensively, it's just those little, tiny mistakes that can lead to offensive chances.
"This group has obviously had a lot of experience the past couple years in knowing what it takes to win at this time of the year.
"It's not always pretty, but it's about wins and that's what this group understands."
The Bolts will have an opportunity to grab another one of those big wins tonight as they look to grab a 2-0 series lead over the Panthers. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise.