The Florida Panthers made a statement on Tuesday with their 6-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning to begin their best-of-7 Stanley Cup playoffs opening-round series at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.

The Lightning will defend their teammates, but they don’t have many enforcer types. Defenseman Emil Lilleberg is the exception, but he struggled enough with his own game Tuesday. Still, if there’s someone who can send a message early in Game 2, it’s Lilleberg. And it might be as good for his game as anything else.

Matthew Tkachuk returned to action with two goals, and the Stanley Cup champs swiped home-ice advantage by thumping the host Tampa Bay Lightning.