Panthers Crown Lightning

     The Florida Panthers beat the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 at Amalie Arena on Tuesday night. It was a rematch of their first-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs back in May which the Lightning won four games to two. The Panthers participated in their first road contest of the 2021-22 regular season. 

     Florida(3-0-0) broke the scoreless tie at the 6:12 mark of the second period just one second after the power play ended. Anton Lundell won the faceoff in the left circle and Sam Reinhart sent a cross-ice pass. Brandon Montour put in a snap shot from the right circle past Andrei Vasilevskiy. Lundell collected his first career point with the secondary assist while Reinhart got his first point in a Panthers uniform. 

     In the third period, Tampa Bay(2-2-0) tied it up 1-1 at 2:36. Jan Rutta angled the puck from the top of the zone to Victor Hedman on the left wing. He connected a cross-ice pass and Brayden Point fired a slap shot from above the right circle by Spencer Knight. Hedman picked up his sixth assist of the campaign. 

     The Panthers would regain the lead 64 seconds later to make it 2-1. Carter Verhaeghe slid the loose puck through the crease area and Aleksander Barkov shoveled it in from the right of the crease. 

     It became 3-1 for Florida with 13:19 remaining in the third. Lundell scored his first NHL goal with a one-time shot from the right circle. Assists were credited to Reinhart and Mason Marchment. 

     Anthony Duclair placed in a backhand shot into an empty net with 2:06 left for a 4-1 advantage. Duclair has found the net in each of the first three Panthers games of the season.