Lightning defeat Panthers in Game 3, on verge of second-round sweep

TAMPA -- The Tampa Bay Lightning moved within one win of a sweep of the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Second Round with a 5-1 victory in Game 3 at Amalie Arena on Sunday.

Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists, Steven Stamkos scored twice, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 34 saves for the Lightning, the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division and two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
"At this time of the year, it's about winning and you need to do what's going to produce the wins," Stamkos said. "It's not always pretty and it's not always going to be the highlight plays, although there are some, especially with [Kucherov] out there."

Sam Reinhart scored for the Panthers, the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic and Presidents' Trophy winner for finishing with the best record in the NHL. Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves.
Florida, which averaged an NHL-best 4.11 goals per game this season, has scored three goals in this series.
"The will -- they're blocking shots, we're not, really," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "They're managing different situations, and I think we've managed that fine, to be honest. But they've just got a little bit more will. When there's a loose puck, they're kind of outbattling us, and they want it a little bit more."
RELATED: [Complete Panthers vs. Lightning series coverage]
Game 4 is here Monday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS). Teams that take a 3-0 lead are 197-4 (.980) winning a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series, including 1-0 in the first round this season (Colorado Avalanche defeated Nashville Predators).
Corey Perry gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 13:21 of the first period when he redirected a shot from Ryan McDonagh.
Reinhart tied it 1-1 at 16:07 when he scored the Panthers' first power-play goal this postseason, a one-timer from the slot off a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau. Florida had been 0-for-25 in the playoffs.
"It's tough not to get frustrated," Reinhart said. "I think there's certain things we're doing well, but obviously it's not enough bodies around the net picking up those loose opportunities. It's certainly frustrating when you're that close but you're not ultimately getting it in."

Cernak put the Lightning ahead 2-1 at 2:54 of the second period with a shot from the left face-off circle that beat Bobrovsky top shelf to the far post.
"It was a great effort by everybody, all my teammates on the ice," Cernak said. "We win the face-off and then they find me on the open spot so I just have to pick the corner and luckily that it went in."
Stamkos extended the lead to 3-1 at 10:23 with a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Kucherov.
"It was certainly a big goal for us," Stamkos said. "[Victor Hedman] makes a great stretch pass to 'Kuch' and he makes a good play. It was a big goal. We like our game going into the third with the lead this time of year."
Kucherov (16:06) and Stamkos (17:51) each scored an empty-net goal in the third period for the 5-1 final.
"We're [darn] pleased with what's going on here, but you know, we haven't done anything yet," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We only won a couple games but the series isn't over. And until you start checking off that fourth win, there's nothing we can sit and hang our hat on. So we're inching our way closer, but this is far from over."

Brunette said the Panthers have to figure out a way to make more plays and avoid being frustrated.
"I'm sure they're obviously disappointed," Brunette said. "We fall behind, they're a tough team to come back on. And we kind of fell behind here this whole series and we haven't found that extra gear from behind, which we found all year. But you have to play one game to bring it home and keep it alive."
NOTES: The Lightning have won five straight playoff games. … Kucherov had his fourth career four-point game in the playoffs -- the most among active NHL players. He has seven points (two goals, five assists) in the series. ... Kucherov had his 19th playoff game with three-plus points. Five players in NHL history have more: Wayne Gretzky (59), Mark Messier (30), Jari Kurri (28), Denis Savard (21) and Jaromir Jagr (20). … Panthers center Aleksander Barkov had 12 shot attempts, six on goal, but was minus-4. ... Perry has scored a goal in three straight games. ... Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad led all skaters in ice time with 25:34. He had nine shot attempts, three on goal, but was minus-3.