In Tampa, the Lightning scored three times in the third period in a 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Brayden Point snapped a 1-1 tie at 3:03 of the third period to ignite the third period rally.
“Tonight, I think we just stuck with our game plan and we started shooting the puck,” Point said. “You know, I think also what we did, too, is we limited Florida’s chances. They’re a really fast team, they create [odd-man situations]. I think we did a good job protecting the middle of the ice and then in turn created chances for us.”
Pat Maroon scored near the midway point of the first period for a 1-0 lad to Tampa. It was Maroon’s first goal of the season.
“It was coming for him,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “It was just going to be when, because he’s been getting a ton of chances.”
Tampa improved to 17-9-1.
Florida tied it, 1-1, in the middle frame on a goal from Zac Dalpe.
“I didn’t think we moved the puck, managed the puck or moved our feet particularly well tonight,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We were trying to play a game slower than the game demanded itself to be played.”
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves in the Bolts win.
Mikhail Sergachev scored ni the eighth minute of the third period to give the Lightning a little breathing room with a 3-1 lead.
The Panthers dropped to 13-11-4.
“In maybe two of those power plays we had really some good chances,” Florida captain Aleksander Barkov said. “We had some shots, we had some looks. Maybe two of them didn’t go that well and we didn’t get the puck in their zone. We had our chances there, but of course that’s not good enough. You’ve got to score at least one.”
Steven Stamkos scored off a breakaway at 16:45 for the 4-1 final.
“We’ve had that for the past few years, where if we’re in a hockey game, whether it’s tied or up one or down one, that we realistically believe that we can win,” Stamkos said. “In the third period, we knew if we could stay 5-on-5, I liked our game. [Vasilevskiy] made the big saves when he had to, and we capitalized on our chances.”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves in the Florida loss.
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