SUMMARY: Panthers 3 – Lightning 4 (2nd period)
The Panthers will look to complete the sweep against their Florida rivals on Saturday.
The Bolts scored the first goal of the game for the first time in the series on a perfect one-timer from Steven Stamkos. It was his fourth goal of the game and his 100th career point in the playoffs. He is the third player in the history of the organization to reach this plateau, After Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman.
Brandon Hagel doubled the lead shorthanded shortly after a superb save with the tip of Andrei Vasilevskiy’s pad.
Three minutes later, Brayden Point made it 3-0 on assists from Kucherov and Hedman, who got his second of the game.
With a lot to do to get back on track, the Panthers in turn had an excellent start to the middle period. Paul Maurice’s men increased their attacks towards the opposing net, but Vasilevskiy made a few important saves to keep Tampa’s priority at three goals.
With good chances, the Panthers solved the Vasilevskiy mystery to cut the lead to 3-1. After a little more than four minutes of play in the second, Carter Verhaeghe took advantage of a nice throw from Matthew Tkachuk from behind the net to put the Panthers on the score.
The Lightning are counting on the return of Mikhail Sergachev, who fractured his tibia and fibula on February 7. He helped restore his team’s three-goal lead by feeding Hagel, who scored twice.
But not for long, since Sam Reinhart once again reduced the gap with his third goal of the series. Then the Panthers put the pressure on by approaching 4-3 thanks to Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Pre-match notes
Aided by their supporting men, the Panthers defeated Tampa Bay 5-3 on Thursday to take a 3-0 series lead. Sam Reinhart tied the game, then Steven Lorentz and Brandon Montour combined to give their team the victory. The fourth line had a goal and three assists.
Both goalies were up to par throughout the confrontation and Andrei Vasilevskiy did everything to keep the Lightning in the game. Sergei Bobrovsky made some miraculous saves and was very well supported on the penalty kill. The Bolts, who had the best power play in the league in the regular season, saw their efficiency drop from 28.6% to 16.7% in the playoffs.
The matchup was closer than the result would indicate and has put on an excellent show so far.
“It was close in the first three games. Our goaltender has been exceptional from the start to help us weather the storms and that has been a key element for us,” said Matthew Tkachuk.
The Lightning want to avoid getting swept for the first time since 2019.
