SUNRISE, FL — — Braden Point scored twice and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Friday night, including the winner on a 2:08 power play going into overtime.
The Lightning won it when Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk put it in the box with a 39-second slash and boarding into overtime. Victor his Hedman was called up with a roughing, making it his 4-for-3 for the Lightning.
Stephen Stamkos also scored for Tampa Bay. Tkachuk and his Rudolfs Balcers scored for Florida.
“Look, they’re a great team,” said Point. “They’re fast, they’re skilled, they’re always a tough night. I’m glad we won, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
After losing to the Lightning in the Eastern Conference semifinals in May, Florida moved up to third place with a 2-1 record. With 9:29 remaining, the point was tied by evading Nikita Kucherov’s shot past Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovski.
“We didn’t look at the score. We just went out and played the third with passion and heart,” said Tampa Bay manager John Cooper. “A typical game between Tampa and Florida. It had everything.But our special team was big and that was the difference.But I really liked the third fight.
After Florida went 2-0 on the opening period power play, Tampa Bay got their first chance with an extra skater when Stamkos made it 1-0 at 13:04 of the period.
The Panthers evened the tie when Tkachuk had a shot just two minutes after defender Brandon Montour. The Balcers scored his two goals in his two games to give Florida the lead with him 4:23 left.
Tkachuk, in his first season in Florida after a big-hit trade in July, currently has three goals and five assists in five games with his new team.
Florida finished the night 0-for-5 on a power play as Tampa Bay scored on the first and last of seven chances.
Florida coach Paul Morris said, “There’s a lot of good things we can build on in our game.
game notes
Tampa Bay avoided one of the worst starts in recent memory as they won two out of five games and scored four points. The Lightning’s worst five-game start of the season was a draw against current Florida coach Paul Morris’ Carolina team in 1998, when he went 0–4.In 2008 and his 2011, Tampa Bay won his first started with just his 3-point standings in 5 games. … With the loss, the Panthers suffered their first October home loss since 2019 against the Colorado Avalanche. Last season he was 5-0 at home in Florida and the NHL did not play his October game during his 2020-21 season. …Florida was the highest scoring team in the NHL last season, scoring at least his three goals in each of his first four games.
Stahl sign on
Veteran forward Eric Stahl officially joined the Panthers on Friday, agreeing to terms of a one-year, $750,000 deal. Stahl came to his training camp in Florida at a professional tryout (PTO), but the Panthers didn’t have space in his salary cap to sign him to a contract. With defenseman Aaron Ekblad on the long-term injured list, the Panthers were able to move funds to add the 37-year-old center.
next
Lightning: Hosts the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Panthers: Host the New York Islanders on Sunday.
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