Tampa Bay Lightning Kill The Panthers Playoff Hopes In Shutout

0. 97. 4. 23. Final

The Tampa Bay Lightning has officially extinguished the final playoff hopes of the Florida Panthers as they come out on top 4-0 in their final meeting of the season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning has accomplished many a feat over the last couple of games this season. Tonight’s encounter in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers was no exception.

All season long, the Tampa Bay Lightning has never lost more than two games in a row. Now that there are only two games left in the regular season, the Lightning are guaranteed to keep this record intact.

Also, a win tonight means that the Lightning has successfully secured home ice advantage for the first round of the 2014-15 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

At the same time, the Lightning has officially killed any hopes that the Florida Panthers had of grasping on of the final Wild Card Spots in the Eastern Conference as they defeat the Panthers 4-0.

The action kicked off much slower than expected tonight. At the halfway point in the first period, the shots on goal were only 1-2. For a team as desperate for a win as the Florida Panthers are, we figured they would come out with much more fire.

On the other hand, their lack of passion makes things that much easier for the Tampa Bay Lightning; not that they need the help, but you get the point.

When the buzzer sounded to end the first period, the Florida Panthers would outshoot the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-6. On the flip side, it is the Lightning who would lead the charge in Faceoff Wins by a margin of 7-4.

The Panthers were the only ones to get a chance on the Power Play in the first period as Lightning defenseman Mark Barberio would be sent to the box for two minutes for High Sticking Panthers left wing Scottie Upshall.

There were a lot of good plays on both sides of the ice in this first period. Thankfully for the Lightning, goaltender Ben Bishop came up big for the Lightning when the need has arisen.

When the second period started and the players took the ice once again, the Panthers came out with a vengeance. They made a really good run at the net in the opening minutes of the period, but Ben Bishop came up big once again and denied them on the rush.

Unfortunately, I would be very long before the Tampa Bay Lightning would open the door for the Panthers to capitalize on an opportunity. At 2:16 in the period, Tyler Johnson, who is playing in his first game since March 30^th with an Upper Body Injury, would be sent to the box for two minutes for Hooking Brandon Pirri.

The good news is that the Lightning penalty kill was on top of its game and the Panthers would be denied in their second attempt at the Power Play.

As the Johnson penalty would come to an end, the Lightning would get their first attempt at the Power Play as Panthers right wing Tomas Kopecky would be sent off for two minutes for tripping Ryan Callahan. This is the moment this game would officially break open.

The Tampa Bay Lightning played the puck into the Panthers’ zone, when Tyler Johnson would feed the puck to Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. Absolutely no one was there to defend against Stamkos, and we all know what happens when you give Stamkos all the time in the world to make a shot.

Needless to say, Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo had no chance of stopping that shot. The Lightning would open up the scoring as they led the Panthers 1-0. It is amazing what one goal can mean in a game. Every encounter this season between the Lightning and the Panthers has been decided by a single goal.

As the play on the ice really begins to kick into high gear, it would be the Lightning who would make the most of their opportunity. Steven Stamkos would receive a pass from Ryan Callahan which Stamkos would quickly put into the back of the net. This was Stamkos’ second goal of the night and his 42^nd of the season.

Stamkos’ goal seemed to light a fire underneath the skates of the Panthers’ offense, but Ben Bishop continued to rob the Panthers at every single turn.

When the buzzer sounded and the second period came to a close, the Tampa Bay Lightning would lead the Florida Panthers 2-0. The Panthers would continue to lead the Lightning in Shots on Goal 22-16 through 40 Minutes.

Considering everything that is on the line for the Florida Panthers in this encounter, this has been a fairly calm game. There hasn’t been a whole lot of physicality on the ice, which is usually the norm for a Lightning/Panthers game.

In the opening moments of the third period, the Tampa Bay Lightning would assert their dominance over the Panthers as Ryan Callahan would sneak the puck past the waiting arm of Roberto Luongo to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a three-goal lead over the Florida Panthers.

In a bit of a reversal from the Lightning’s previous goal, it is Stamkos who fed the puck to Callahan for the young center’s sneaky little ninja shot.

Just over the halfway point in the period, the Kitty Cats would get their third shot at the Power Play as defenseman Slater Koekkoek would be sent to the box for two minutes for Interference against Aleksander Barkov.

As Koekkoek’s penalty was about to roll off the clock, defenseman Luke Witkowski would find himself joining Koekkoek in the box as he is sent off for two minutes for tripping Barkov. This would present the Panthers with a 5-on-3 opportunity.

The good news is that the Lightning’s penalty kill was able to hold on for long enough for Koekkoek to make his way out of the box, and the Lightning would head to a 5-on-4 deficit.

There would be a bit of a dust up in front of the Lightning net involving Jonathan Huberdeau and Cedric Paquette, but nothing would actually materialize out of it.

Thankfully, the Lightning’s penalty kill would remain strong and they would survive both the Koekkoek and Witkowski penalties. This doesn’t mean that the Panthers would be any less aggressive now that the Lightning was back at full strength.

Just under the 15 minute mark in the period, the Panthers would make two solid runs at Bishop, which Bishop would easily deflect. We can’t say that if any lesser goaltender had been in net that one of those two attempts would have made it to the back of the net.

The clock would tick down to the final two minutes of the game. You could literally cut the intensity in the air with a knife. Just like that, Tyler Johnson would sink the puck in the back of the net to give the Lightning a 4 goal lead over their in-state rivals.

The Panthers definitely put up a valiant effort tonight, bringing 30 shots against the Bishop; however, Bishop would remain rock solid and the Tampa Bay Lightning would defeat the Florida Panthers 4-0, ending any hopes they had of making the post season.

Tonight’s Lightning win also sets a new career high for a certain netminder. Ben Bishop has officially won his 38^th win of the season, which is a new career high for the 28 year old Denver native.

This puts the Tampa Bay Lightning at 104 points this season and officially moves them into a tie with the Montreal Canadiens for first place in the Atlantic Division. This is only two points shy of a franchise record set by the 2004 Stanley Cup team with 106.

There is still plenty of hockey to be played and two more opportunities to come out on top, but at the very least, the Lightning will start out the first round of the 2014-15 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Amalie Arena with home ice advantage.

Next up, the Tampa Bay Lightning head home to the Amalie Arena to take on the New Jersey Devils in the next to last game of the regular season. The season series between these two teams has been split down the middle, so Thursday’s game will be the deciding factor in this one. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.

Are you ready for the Tampa Bay Lightning to charge back onto home ice? More importantly, are you ready to Be The Thunder as the Bolts make their final charge in the regular season? We know we are!

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