Panthers shut out Lightning, clinch No. 2 seed in Central

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers clinched the No. 2 seed from the Discover Central Division with a 4-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at BB&T Center on Monday.

The Panthers (37-14-5) swept the two-game set to finish four points ahead of the Lightning (36-17-3) and earn home-ice advantage when the teams play each other in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"For these last two games, for the boys to come out the way they did, just to gain home-ice advantage in the first round is huge," Florida forward Anthony Duclair said. "We know how important that is come playoff time. We're really excited and we're looking forward to it."
Chris Driedger made 30 saves, and Juho Lammikko had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak and went 5-2-1 against the Lightning.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves for Tampa Bay, which lost its final three games and was outscored 14-3 in that span.
"The goal every year is to make the playoffs. In an unprecedented year, it's tough," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "The guys buckled down and made the playoffs, good on them. … I've been part of playoffs series that we've won when we've had home ice, and I've been a part of playoff series that we lost when we've had home ice. The players will lock horns when the puck drops, and we go from there."
Tampa Bay started the game with an all-Black forward line with Mathieu Joseph,
Gemel Smith
and Daniel Walcott, who was making his NHL debut.
"It was pretty awesome," Joseph said. "It was great, a step in the right direction. It was fun to have some progress and it was great to see and I was glad I was part of it. We all laughed about it and were pretty happy. Any players of color in this league want to showcase to our families or other people of color. I thank the coaching staff for doing this."

Duclair said, "In the locker room I saw the lineup. That's great to see. I'm so proud. Just the way that the NHL is moving forward, it's great to see. For those guys, I'm sure it was a special night for them and for Walcott, first game, I'm sure he was very pleased. But that was an unbelievable feeling, even for myself playing against those guys. It was great to see."
MacKenzie Weegar gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 15:19 of the first period with a wrist shot from the high slot.
Lammikko made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal at 8:23 of the second period. Vasilevskiy went to play the puck at the side of the net, bounced a pass off the boards to nobody, and Lammikko picked it up and scored on a wraparound before Vasilevskiy could get back to the post.
"There was a good dump by the D-man, and I just went toward the puck and got it this time," Lammikko said. "It was a good break."

Carter Verhaeghe extended the lead to 3-0 at 2:27 of the third period with a wrist shot on a 2-on-1. He was making his return to the lineup after missing the previous 13 games with an upper-body injury.
"I've been bothering (him) since the first day he got injured to come back," Duclair said. "We're glad he's back. He's obviously a huge part of our lineup. We saw it again tonight how he can switch momentum with his speed and his skill."
Alex Wennberg made it 4-0 at 14:07 when he deflected Radko Gudas' shot from the point.

Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta hit the post in the third period, and center Brayden Point hit the crossbar, but Driedger, who was playing for the first time since April 26 because of a lower-body injury, was able to complete his third shutout of the season.
"I kind of just show up," Driedger said. "The guys played fantastic defensively tonight. I felt good. I was seeing the puck. Couple of breakaways I just felt solid on. I had good depth. But overall, just an incredible effort by the guys. Got a couple of fortunate bounces there in the third. I think we had two posts. There's a reason why they're a goalie's best friend, but all in all a great win."
NOTES: Tampa Bay again played without defensemen Victor Hedman (lower body) and Ryan McDonagh (upper body), and forward Steven Stamkos (lower body). … Florida forward Jonathan Huberdeau was a late scratch because of an illness. … With the secondary assist on Wennberg's goal, Keith Yandle became the 10th United States-born defenseman to reach 600 NHL points. ... Walcott had one shot on goal and seven hits in 10:03 of ice time.