By Syndicated Content
May 19, 2021 | 1:01 AM
The Tampa Bay Lightning scored twice in the first period and got 32 saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy to beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 in Game 2 of a Central Division first-round playoff series on Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla.
The Lightning now hold a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven series as play shifts to Tampa for Game 3 on Thursday and Game 4 on Saturday.
Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat scored in the first period before Florida’s Mason Marchment responded in the second. Yanni Gourde sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal with 1:25 remaining in the game.
Tim Reynolds
Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) celebrates after scoring a goal during the first period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers, Tuesday, May 18, 2021, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) May 18, 2021 - 7:53 PM
SUNRISE, Fla. - Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots, Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat had first-period goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Central Division first-round playoff series.
It s the seventh time that the Lightning have won the first two games a series, the third time doing so on the road. They ve never lost one of those matchups, and will look to put Florida on the brink of elimination when the series shifts to Tampa on Thursday night.
Panthers in huge hole after dropping 3-1 decision to Lightning
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Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
The Tampa Bay Lightning built an early lead that they refused to relinquish and went on to beat the frustrated Florida Panthers by a 3-1 count in Game 2 at the BB&T Center.
Steven Stamkos passed the puck off defenseman Anton Stralman and into the net 4:52 into the opening period and Ondrej Palat followed up on Brayden Point’s shot that rang off the far post after Point blew by MacKenzie Weegar, who had a rather tough outing, 10:05 later.
The only Panthers goal came with 5:39 left in the second period, Mason Marchment won a puck battle behind the net and got it to Aleksander Barkov, who passed off to Carter Verhaeghe. The ex-Bolt found Marchment open in front of the net and he chipped a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy to halve the deficit. It was the first career playoff goal for the 25-year-old Marchment.
NHL roundup: Lightning grab 2-0 series edge on Panthers texasguardian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from texasguardian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers Preview: Adjustments for Game Two
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Time: 8:00 pm Eastern Time
Location: BB&T Center
Opponent SBNation Site:
Normally the first game of a playoff series has a bit of a tentative feel to it. The two teams spend the first period or so figuring each other out to set up the rest of the series. The Lightning and Panthers threw that strategy in the penalty box and went at it from the opening whistle. Part of that comes from having met each other so much over the regular season thanks to the in-division only schedule. What was left to find out about teams that had faced each other eight times over the last few months?