TAMPA — Another slow start for the Lightning put them in a bit of a rut coming out of the first period Saturday night against the Panthers at Amalie Arena.
And it was a rut the Lightning could not overcome, losing 5-3. With the win, Florida (61 points) moved ahead of Tampa Bay (60 points) into second place in the Central Division, trailing Carolina (62 points).
Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour opened the scoring 8:41 into the first from the point, the puck deflecting off Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak before slipping past Andrei Vasilvekiy (27 saves).
The Panthers extended their lead less than four minutes later as Patric Hornqvist converted a rebound on his team’s first power play.
The Lightning (29-13-2) got on the board with a shot by defenseman Mikhail Sergachev that was deflected off center Brayden Point, past Sergei Bobrovsky (28 saves).
Point’s goal broke a tie with captain Steven Stamkos — out with a lower-body injury until at least May 5 — for his team-leading 18th goal this season.
But Florida (28-12-5) wasn’t done. Center Jonathan Huberdeau capitalized on a turnover from Tampa Bay’s Tyler Johnson and extended the Panthers lead to 3-1 with eight seconds remaining in the period.
The Panthers’ momentum continued to build in the second as center Frank Vatrano scored on a breakaway to make it 4-1 with 2:26 remaining.
In the last minute of the period, however, the Lightning flipped the script with defenseman Erik Cernak scoring from the right faceoff circle, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
In the third, right wing Mathieu Joseph tipped in a shot from Hedman to cut the Panthers’ lead to one goal with 18:07 remaining. But Florida’s Anthony Duclair scored an empty-netter with 49 seconds remaining to finish the scoring.
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April 18, 2021 at 08:11AM
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Lightning lose at home to Panthers - Tampa Bay Times
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