Lightning Strike Panthers

    The Florida Panthers ended a three-game homestand as they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday night at BB&T Center. The Panthers have lost 14 of their last 17 games and will play 6 of their next 7 games on the road. The Cats only got one point of a possible six in the last three games.
    For the second straight game, the Panthers gave up the initial goal on the second shift of the contest as Tampa Bay(11-14-1) went up 1-0 at 1:36 of the first period. Left wing Alex Killorn threw a pass from the right-wing wall to right wing Martin St. Louis in the right corner. He then flicked a backhand pass to center Vincent Lecavalier in the low slot where he put the puck by Panthers goalie Jacob Markstrom. A bigger surprise was that Markstrom gave up a goal on the first shot by the opponent for the third consecutive game.
    Florida((7-14-6) had a 16-2 shot advantage until the Lightning scored again with 2:12 left in the first period. St. Louis dropped a pass to Killorn as they crossed the Panthers blue line and he found a helmetless Lecavalier who skated through the middle. He faked a shot and sent the puck to St. Louis at the right side of crease and he snapped a shot into a empty net for a Lightning 2-0 lead.
    The Panthers closed the margin just 13 seconds into the second period. The Bolts committed a turnover behind their own cage and the Cats capitalized. Center Marcel Goc got the loose puck, passed to right wing Kris Versteeg to the right of the net and he lifted a wrist shot by goalie Anders Lindback.Versteeg garnered his second goal this season.
    Lightning center Nate Thompson lost the puck as he was about to circle around his own net. Right wing Jack Skille put a backhand pass to left wing Tomas Kopecky in the crease and he shot the puck between the legs of Lindback at 11:24 to tie the game. It was Kopecky's 11th goal this season and third goal in the last five games. Skille extended his point streak to a career best four games. The Panthers were ahead 26-4 on shots at the time of the goal and 30-6 after two periods.
    The Bolts retook the lead when center Steven Stamkos got his league-leading 20th goal of the season on the power play at 5:30 of the third period. St. Louis passed from the right point to right wing Teddy Purcell on the left point. He moved the puck to Stamkos below the left circle and he blasted an acute angle one-time slapshot off Markstrom's left skate into the net. On a negative note to the Panthers, Stamkos broke a record and passed Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins as he scored for the eighth straight game against Florida.
    The Cats outshot the Bolts 39-13 in the game and held the Lightning to a season-low in shot production. The Panthers went 0-for-4 on the power play while the Lightning went 1-for-2 with the man advantage. Markstrom fell to 1-5-1 this season as he saved 10 of 13 shots. Lindback stopped 37 of 39 shots to get the victory and upped his record to 9-6-1 this season. Florida visits Boston and take on the Bruins on Thursday night.