Lightning Crack Panthers

    The Florida Panthers attempted to get out of the NHL basement as they were dismantled by the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 at Tampa Bay Times Forum on Tuesday night. The Cats have now lost five straight games since they won on opening night against Carolina and outscored 23-5 in their last five games. Florida right wing Kris Versteeg made his season debut for the club.
    Both teams combined for three goals in a one-minute, forty-second span in the first period. Tampa Bay(5-1-0) scored the first goal of the game on the power play at 11:09. Center Vincent Lecavalier skimmed on a shot from the right point that went into the right corner. Right wing Martin St. Louis feed the puck to left wing Steven Stamkos in the low right circle. He fired one slapshot that was saved, got his own rebound and buried the second slapshot over the left shoulder of Panthers goalie Jose Theodore. It was the fourth goal this season for the defending Maurice Richard Trophy winner.
    Florida(1-5-0) center Peter Mueller recovered a loose puck in the crease area and put a wrist shot by Lightning goalie Anders Lindback 15 seconds later for an unassisted goal. It was the second straight game that Mueller had scored for the Cats.
    The Lightning regained the lead 2-1 at 12:49. Defenseman Victor Hedman sent a long lead pass from inside his own blue line to left wing Cory Conacher who was behind the Panthers defense at the Florida blue line. He skated in and snapped a wrist shot from the low slot beyond Theodore's left arm for the score.
    Tampa Bay extended their lead to 3-1 early in the second period at 3:18. Left wing Dana Tyrell carried the puck down the right wing and backhanded a pass to the middle. It hit the left glove of center Tom Pyatt in the slot area and redirected into the Panthers net.
    Tyrell got his first goal of the season at 15:39 to make it a Lightning 4-1 lead. Pyatt started the play with a backhand from behind the Panthers cage to the crease area.
    The Panthers gave up another power-play goal to Tampa Bay at 14:13 of the third period. Conacher backhanded a pass from the end wall to left wing Benoit Pouliot at the left face-off dot. He slide a cross-ice pass to the low right circle where Lecavalier ripped a shot into a half-empty net.
    Panthers left wing Tomas Fleischmann intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and ran off with a breakaway. He fired a wrist shot that barely squeezed by Lindback for a shorthanded goal at 14:31 and closed the deficit down to 5-2. It was his second goal this season.
    Special teams had an effect in this game as the Lightning went 2-for-5 on the power play while the Cats were 0-for-4. Florida was outshot 11-6 in the first period and 33-28 in the game. Theodore made 28 saves in 33 shots and Lindback stopped 26 of 28 shots. The Panthers come home on Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets before they return to the road for four straight games.