Following a frustrating loss on home ice Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning rebounded with a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers on the road at Amerant Bank Arena. While the power play was the kryptonite of the Lightning in the first half of the back-to-back rivalry games, the Bolts rebounded with a solid performance at even strength and on special teams. The Lightning and Panthers have split the season series at one game apiece and will meet again in March.
Lightning Defeat Defending Stanley Cup Champions
The Lightning came out flying in the first period with a beautiful top-shelf backhander from Nikita Kucherov. An excellent pass on the rush by the captain, Victor Hedman, created that goal 6:56 into the game. A few shifts later, Jake Guentzel got a pass in the high slot from Brandon Hagel and ripped the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky. The Lightning closed out the period with a power-play goal by Mitchell Chaffee.
Right after the Lightning went up by three, Kucherov kneed Panthers’ superstar Matthew Tkachuk. Kucherov was assessed a five-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct.
Despite a flat first period, the Panthers made a valiant push in the final two frames, testing Jonas Johansson from all areas and angles. However, the Tampa Bay backup stood tall in the net. When the Panthers drew a penalty following a high-stick by Nick Perbix late in the third period, they decided to skate with an empty net to generate offensively.
Luckily, Brandon Hagel floated a shot down the ice into the empty net for a shorthanded goal to secure the victory for the Bolts. Johansson was a brick wall in this game with 36 saves, while special teams were the difference for the Lightning tonight. They scored a power-play goal and killed off four Florida power plays.
The Lightning are back in action on Saturday (Dec. 28) against the struggling New York Rangers. Puck drop for that game is at 7 p.m. On the other hand, the Panthers host the Montreal Canadiens in their next game for a 1 p.m. puck drop on Saturday.
3 Stars of the Game
- Jonas Johansson (1.000 SV%, 0.00 GAA)
- Victor Hedman (2 assists)
- Anthony Cirelli (2 assists)
