Lightning Sock Panthers

     The Tampa Bay Lightning dropped the Florida Panthers 7-3 on Wednesday night at Amalie Arena. It was the fifth game of a six-game road swing for the Cats.
     Tampa Bay(15-6-1) scored just 59 seconds into the contest. Alexander Petrovic turned the puck over at his own blue. Mathieu Joseph skated through the left circle and slipped in a backhand shot from the crease by Roberto Luongo.
     Florida(8-8-3) answered back almost immediately at 2:19. Micheal Haley lifted a cross-ice pass through the neutral zone. Troy Brouwer corralled it at the Lightning blue line scored on a wrist shot from the right circle past Louie Domingue. It was the first point for Haley this season.
     The Bolts regained the lead at the 9:22 mark. Victor Hedman fed a pass from the top of the zone and Nikita Kucherov blasted a one-time slapshot from the right circle for a power-play goal.
     The Lightning added to their margin during the second period. Yanni Gourde sent a pass to the left circle then Steven Stamkos returned it to him on the right side of the cage for the tap in at 2:37. They made it 4-1 when Adam Erne scored on a backhand rebound shot from the low slot at the 4:45 mark.
     The Panthers did convert on the power play with 1:35 left in the second. Jonathan Huberdeau threaded a pass through the crease and Alekander Barkov stuffed in a shot by the right side of the blue paint.
     In the third period, Tampa Bay extended the gap. Stamkos snapped a shot from close range at 1:30 and Ryan McDonagh redirected a pass from Stamkos at the 3:21 mark. Dan Girardi put in a soft wrist shot from the right wing by James Reimer with 5:35 left for his first goal of the year.
     Mike Hoffman would extend his Panthers record point streak to 16 games on the power play with 3:35 remaining. Keith Yandle slid the puck from the left point and Hoffman pounded a one-time slapshot from the top of the right circle.