Panthers Pour On Lightning

     The Florida Panthers finished up a three-game road trip versus the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Saturday night with a 9-2 blowout win. The Panthers have won 11 consecutive road games and return home against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. The Cats are alone on top of the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings for the first time this season.

     The Lightning struck quickly just 24 seconds into the game and led 1-0. Anthony Cirelli sent a diagonal backhand pass from his own blue line. Brandon Hagel carried through the left circle and scored his 20th goal this season on a wrist shot from the crease area past Sergei Bobrovsky. 

     Florida(36-15-4) evened it up 1-1 at the 7:01 mark. Sam Bennett won the faceoff in the right circle and Brandon Montour fired a high slap shot from the right point by Andrei Vasilevskiy for his third goal of the year. 

     The Panthers got to the lead 2-1 with 7:32 left in the first. Dmitry Kulikov saved the puck from leaving the offensive zone. Matthew Tkachuk angled a pass from the high slot and Bennett snapped a shot from the right-circle dot for his 12th goal of the campaign.

     It became 3-1 for the Cats with 2:16 to go in the opening frame. Josh Mahura ripped the puck around the boards from the red line. Ryan Lomberg pushed it from the left corner and Kevin Stenlund put in his ninth tally this season on a snap shot from the inner left circle. 

     Tampa Bay(30-21-5) surrendered another goal with 1:25 remaining and trailed 4-1. Gustav Forsling released a forehand shot from the left wing and collected his eighth goal in 2023-24. 

     Florida scored 23 seconds into the second period with the man advantage and had a four-goal margin. Aleksander Barkov passed it from the top right circle ahead to Tkachuk at the right goal line. He attempted cross-ice pass went off a defender and into the Bolts cage. The Panthers have scored a power-play goal in 10 straight contests which tied a franchise record set in 2018. 

     The Cats expanded it to 6-1 on another power-play tally at the 1:37 mark of the second. Montour made a square pass at the top of the zone. Carter Verhaeghe took a snap shot from the left point that was deflected in by Tkachuk from the top of the crease for his second goal of the game and 20th goal of the season. 

     Verhaeghe added two more goals and Bennett picked up his second tally of game for the Panthers during the third period for a 9-1 advantage. Brayden Point helped the Bolts as he chalked up his 27th goal this season on a backhand shot with 9:09 left in the third and made it 9-2.