Panthers Ignite Lightning

     The Florida Panthers played their home opener at BB&T Center on Saturday night and got by the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4. It was the second game of a home-and-home series between both clubs.
     It was a fast start for Tampa Bay(1-0-1) as they scored twice in the first five minutes of the contest. Nikita Kucherrov made it 1-0 at the 3:30 mark.
     The Bolts extended their lead to two goals at 4:48 on the power play. Steven Stamkos connected a pass from the right circle to the left circle. Kucherov sent an angle pass to Vladimir Namestnikov in the crease area and he scored on one-timer.
     Florida(1-0-1) began to make their comeback with 7:42 left in the first on a power-play goal. Aaron Ekblad ripped a slap shot from the top of the zone which hit the left post. Evgenii Daakov put in the rebound from the slot area.
     In the second period, the Panthers tied it at 1:46. Denis Malgin sent a lead pass through the neutral zone to Nick Bjugstad at the Lightning blue line. He skated in alone into the slot and snapped in a shot.
     The Bolts responded at 13:57 of the second to go up 3-2. Ondrej Palat placed a pass ahead to Brayden Point in the right circle. He blasted a wrist shot that trickled by James Reimer and into the cage.
     The third period belonged to Florida as they scored three unanswered goals. Colton Sceviour scored on a rebound from close range following a shot by Michael Haley at 6:06.
     The Cats added another goal 36 seconds later and took their first lead of the game 4-3. Jared McCann scored on a shot from the edge of the crease on assists from Bjugstad and Connor Brickley. Florida increased their margin to 5-3 at the 8:34 mark. Radim Vrbata released a shot from the left wing which was saved by Andrei Vasilevskiy, but Vincent Trocheck swept in the rebound from the blue paint.
     The Lightning did not go down without a fight and put in a tally with 5:48 remaining. Tyler Johnson poked in the rebound from the low slot off a shot by Yanni Gourde.