Tkachuk stars in his return by scoring twice as the Panthers top Lightning 6-2 in series opener

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk had two power-play goals and an assist in his first game after a two-month absence and the Florida Panthers opened defense of their Stanley Cup title with a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night in the first game of the first-round playoff series.

Nate Schmidt scored on a power play and finished with two goals, and Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart each added a goal and an assist for the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves.

Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point scored for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy had 10 stops.

The Lightning played the final 33:30 without center Anthony Cirelli. There was no immediate word why the 27-year-old center was out.

The teams meet for Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on Thursday at Amalie Arena.

“Both teams will look at the game to find things they can do better somewhere,'' Florida head coach Paul Maurice said. ”It’ll be a complete reset by both teams for the next one.''

Tkachuk was playing for the first time in more than two months after dealing with a lower-body injury. He scored twice in the second period. Those two goals put Florida up 4-1 — the second goal for the Panthers in a 14-second span — and the next one pushing the lead to 5-1 midway through the second.

“I felt there was some plays in the game where I wish I could have back,'' Tkachuk said. "But I feel great.''

Bennett had opened the scoring at 3:44 of the first, batting a puck out of the air. Guentzel responded for Tampa Bay, scoring with a man advantage at 12:21. The Panthers regained the lead when Reinhart tipped in a shot by Dmitry Kulikov with 45 seconds remaining the first.

"They get a 2-1 lead, and it gets momentum on their side,'' Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said.

The Panthers broke the game open early in the second when Schmidt scored on a rebound at 4:41. Tampa Bay lost a challenge for goaltender interference on the play, and Tkahchuk scored his first on the ensuing power play — 14 seconds later — and added a second at 9:44.

“You have to stop that bleeding,'' Lightning captain Victor Hedman said. ”We give up that third one, the challenge didn’t go our way, and we give up another one right away. That’s tough.''

Point cut the deficit to 5-2 at 13:04 of the second. Schmidt added Florida's third power-play goal off a pass from Tkachuk at 5:09 of the third.

“I think overall, we were solid today and did a lot of good things,'' Florida captain Aleksander Barkov said. ”I liked most of our game.''

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Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) passes the puck after getting knocked down during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, against the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) watches his deflection get past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) for a goal during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak (81) works the puck in front of Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) and defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) stops a shot by Florida Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen (27) during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh (43) controls the puck in front of Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) during the third period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) can't stop a shot by Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) breaks out ahead of Tampa Bay Lightning center Zemgus Girgensons (28) during the third period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) shoots on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy during the third period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) celebrates after scoring past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates with the bench after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged heavy volleys of shells and gunfire across their frontier in Kashmir overnight, killing at least five civilians in a growing military standoff that erupted following an attack on tourists in the India-controlled portion of the disputed region.

In Pakistan, an unusually intense night of artillery exchanges left at least four civilians dead and wounded 12 others in areas near the Line of Control that divides Kashmir, local police official Adeel Ahmad said. People in border towns said the firing continued well into Friday morning.

“We’re used to hearing exchange of fire between Pakistan and India at the Line of Control, but last night was different,” said Mohammad Shakil, who lives near the frontier in Chakothi sector.

In India, military officials said Pakistani troops barraged their posts overnight with artillery, mortars and gunfire at multiple locations in Indian-controlled Kashmir. They said Indian soldiers responded, triggering fierce exchanges until early dawn.

Two people were killed and four others injured in Uri and Poonch sectors, police said, taking the civilian death toll in Indian-controlled Kashmir to 18 since Wednesday. Pakistan said Indian mortar and artillery fire has killed 17 civilians in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the same period.

Indian authorities have evacuated tens of thousands of civilians from villages near the volatile frontier. Thousands of people slept in shelters for a second consecutive night.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since an attack on a popular tourist site in India-controlled Kashmir left 26 civilians dead, mostly Hindu Indian tourists, on April 22. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan for backing the attack, an accusation Islamabad rejects.

On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory it described as militant-related, killing 31 civilians according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets.

On Thursday, India said it thwarted Pakistani drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan denied that it carried out drone attacks. India said meanwhile it hit Pakistan’s air defense systems and radars close to the city of Lahore. The incidents could not be independently confirmed.

The Indian army said Friday that Pakistan fired about 300-400 drones overnight in violation of Indian airspace to target military installations in nearly three dozen sites along the western borders. India brought down a number of the drones using "kinetic and non-kinetic means,” Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian air force told a news conference.

Meanwhile, social platform X in a statement on Thursday said the Indian government had ordered it to block users in the country from accessing more than 8,000 accounts, including a number of “international news organizations and other prominent users.”

The social platform did not release the list of accounts it was blocking in India, but said the order “amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech.” Later, X briefly blocked access to the Global Affairs Account from which it had posted the statement, also citing a legal demand from India.

India’s biggest domestic cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, which attracts top players from around the world, was suspended for one week. Pakistan also moved its own domestic tournament to the United Arab Emirates because of the tensions.

Panic also spread during an evening cricket match in northern Dharamsala city, where a crowd of more than 10,000 people had to be evacuated from the stadium and the game called off, according to an Associated Press photographer covering the event.

Meanwhile, several northern and western Indian states, including Punjab, Rajasthan, Indian-controlled Kashmir, shut schools and other educational institutions for two days.

Airlines in India have also suspended flight operations from two dozen airports across northern and western regions until May 15, India’s Civil Aviation Ministry said.

The impact of border flare up was also seen in the Indian stock markets. In early trade on Friday, the benchmark Sensex tanked 662 points to 79,649 while Nifty 50 declined 215 points to trade at 24,058.

As fears of military confrontation soar and worried world leaders call for de-escalation, the U.S. Vice President JD Vance has said that a potential war between India and Pakistan would be “none of our business.”

“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News.

Saaliq and Roy reported from New Delhi and Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Ishfaq Ahmed and Roshan Mughal in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan contributed to this report.

People read morning newspapers covering front page story about Pakistan and India military tension, at a stall in Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

Villagers living along the border between India and Pakistan have food at a college where they have taken shelter following artillery shelling from Pakistan, on the outskirts of Jammu, India, Friday, May 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Channi Anand)

A local resident shows a piece of shell fired by Indian forces, at his damaged house in Haveli Kahuta, a district of Pakistan's administered Kashmir, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rashid Ahmed)

A Kashmiri man using mobile light during blackout is seen after residents of the city of Jammu reported hearing explosions and sirens in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Workers repair broken glass of a building at the parking area of Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where a suspected Indian drone was crashed on Thursday, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

A person inspects his damaged shop following overnight shelling from Pakistan at Gingal village in Uri district, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A worker repairs broken glass of a building at the parking area of Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where a suspected Indian drone was crashed on Thursday, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

A resident inspects his house damaged by Pakistani artillery shelling in Poonch, along the Line of Control, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)