The Lightning brought a high compete level, which fed into their ability to play at a fast pace. They owned more of the possession time in the first period, stringing together several lengthy offensive zone shifts. But the opening goal didn't result from sustained offensive zone pressure. Instead, Tyler Johnson raced down the ice to negate an icing infraction. He reached the puck first and, from behind the Florida net, centered a pass to Pat Maroon in front. MacKenzie Weegar got his stick on the puck and deflected it into the air. Maroon then batted the puck out of the air and into the net.
The Lightning held that 1-0 lead into the second period and that's when the Panthers picked up their own pace. Florida cleanly executed plays to attack the Lightning's defensive zone with speed. But none of those rushes yielded a goal. Vasilevskiy made a handful of tough saves on initial shots and the Lightning tracked back with intensity to help clear away any potential rebounds. Their defensive hustle also broke up several of those Florida rush looks before a shot materialized. The second period also included power play chances for both sides. Florida looked dangerous on its two opportunities, but Vasilevskiy made four saves and the Lightning penalty killers managed to keep up with the Panthers' quick puck movement. The Lightning carried their first power play chance into the beginning of the second period. They didn't score on that opportunity, but they would cash in when Sam Bennett took a roughing minor at 12:53. During the first Lightning power play, Steven Stamkos narrowly missed the net on a couple of shot attempts. But on this PP, he took a feed from Victor Hedman and drilled a one-timer into the top of the net.
Up 2-0 entering the third, the Lightning locked things down. The Panthers did finish with 10 shots on goal during the final frame, but the Lightning did well to limit the amount of time Florida applied pressure. The Lightning consistently got pucks out of their own end and worked them deep to the Florida end. As they did in the first period, the Lightning strung together lengthy offensive zone shifts, working the clock and forcing the Panthers to play defense.
With under six minutes left, Erik Cernak cleared a puck down the ice and Nikita Kucherov tracked it to the offensive zone. As the Panthers skated back to their own end, Kucherov delivered a backhand pass to Brayden Point in the slot. Point cut around Weegar and tucked a forehand shot past Spencer Knight. The highlight-reel goal gave the Lightning a 3-0 lead with 5:24 remaining. Alex Killorn finished the scoring with an empty-netter at 18:18.
There were several notable performances in this one. Vasilevskiy was superb in turning aside any and all Florida chances. Ryan McDonagh led the defensive effort, repeatedly making good plays to get pucks out of the defensive zone. After missing the first five games due to injury, Barclay Goodrow returned to the lineup and provided a boost. He was a puck hound all night, disrupting Florida plays in all three zones. But most of all, this was a team win. Everyone in a Lightning jersey pulled on the rope in the same direction. It's why Jon Cooper stated afterwards that his players "played like champions today."
I'll have an overall series recap coming in the next few days.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 29-save shutout.
2. Ryan McDonagh - Lightning.
3. Mikhail Sergachev - Lightning.
