Aleksander Barkov scored twice in the second period, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves as the Florida Panthers defeated their in-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 on Monday night. The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers extended their winning streak to four games while snapping Tampa Bay’s eight-game run, which had been the longest active streak in the NHL.
Brayden Point brought the Lightning within one early in the third period, scoring his team-leading 32nd goal of the season. However, Bobrovsky and the Panthers defense held strong, denying Tampa Bay’s potent attack the rest of the way.
Barkov broke the scoreless deadlock with a power-play goal midway through the second period, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy with a sharp wrist shot. Just minutes later, the Panthers captain struck again, finishing a well-placed pass from Matthew Tkachuk to give Florida a 2-0 advantage.
Bobrovsky continued his strong form, following up a 23-save shutout against Calgary with another stellar performance. He made key stops late in the second period and withstood a barrage of shots early in the third before Point finally broke through.
Veteran defenseman Seth Jones made his Panthers debut after being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks over the weekend. He nearly found the back of the net early in the second period, but Vasilevskiy turned away his chance, drawing loud cheers from Florida fans in attendance.
Tampa Bay entered the game with the NHL’s best road power play (32.1%) but went 0-for-6 on the night. That included a four-minute double-minor in the second period after Eetu Luostarinen was called for high-sticking Jake Guentzel. Despite over 10 minutes of penalty kill time, the Panthers defense held firm and kept Tampa Bay off the scoreboard with the man advantage.
The Lightning nearly tied the game midway through the third period when Anthony Cirelli fired a shot on a power play that clanked off the crossbar and bounced out. It was Tampa Bay’s best chance to equalize, but the Panthers held on for the win.
With the victory, Florida took a 2-1 lead in the regular-season series. The two teams will meet once more in Tampa on April 15 in what could be a pivotal late-season showdown.
Next, the Lightning will look to rebound as they host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, while the Panthers will welcome Columbus to Sunrise on Thursday.
