Nikita Kucherov, Ben Bishop Send Tampa Bay Lightning Past Florida Panthers

3. 23. Final. 1. 97

The Tampa Bay Lightning got two timely goals from Nikita Kucherov and 26 saves from goaltender Ben Bishop in a 3-1 win over the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers on Sunday night.

For two teams that have been known to shoot the puck from everywhere, the first period had to be a disappointment with only five shots total (3-2 in favor of the Tampa Bay Lightning). Unsurprisingly, there was no score after 20 minutes of play. In period 2, things opened up and the Tampa Bay Lightning took advantage. They peppered All Star netminder Roberto Luongo with a number of dangerous opportunities before finally breaking through.

Kucherov steamed up the left side before ripping a one timer past Luongo for a 1-0 lead. After that, the Florida Panthers had a couple of good chances on the doorstep but Bishop was able to grab the puck out of harms way.

Then, with the second period winding to a close, the Tampa Bay Lightning got some of the puck luck that mostly eluded them earlier this season.

Defenseman Jason Garrison (a former Panther) sent a shot through a maze of players and on net. It clanked off a crossbar and bounced fortuitously to fellow blueliner Andrej Sustr who flipped it past Luongo for a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.

Unfortunately, minus a couple of odd man rushes, period 3 belonged to the Panthers.

The Panthers did everything right, from hemming the Lightning in defensively to winning puck battles and everything in between. The result: a goal to make the game interesting once again. Nick Bjugstad scored it, pouncing on his own rebound to break Bishop’s shutout streak, one which spanned over five periods and nearly 130 minutes.

Afterwards, the Panthers stormed Bishop even more in an attempt to get the tying goal. They were aided by the Tampa Bay Lightning’s carelessness, resulting in a few penalties, but couldn’t capitalize thanks to a brilliant penalty killing effort and big stops from the Bolts’ All Star netminder.

With under two minutes remaining and the Panthers in the offensive zone trying for the tying goal, Luongo was sent to the bench for an extra attacker. Nearly simultaneously, Kucherov stole the puck and skated the other way before stopping inside the blue line and shooting it towards the empty net.

3-1 Tampa Bay Lightning and this game was essentially over.

Some things that stuck out to me during this game were the penalty kill, a lack of discipline and the infamous puck luck.

First things first. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s penalty kill, minus a key cog in Brian Boyle who missed this game with a lower body injury, was on point. Ryan Callahan stepped up, as did the captain Steven Stamkos and Cedric Paquette among others.

In saying that, the penalty kill was used far too often. While some of the penalties were ticky tack calls or good in the sense that they potentially saved a Panther goal, others came as a result of sitting back too much. That must be cleaned up if the Lightning wants to continue their climb up the standings.

Puck luck also played a role in this victory, as it has a lot during this teams recent run of success. I guess the saying “What goes around comes around” does apply to the game of hockey because for all the bad bounces the Lightning received the first few months they’re getting some good ones at key moments now.

Moving forward, the Tampa Bay Lightning must cut down on the number of penalties taken and play a full 60 minutes. Doing so would allow them to continue their ascension up the Eastern Conference, important to remaining relevant in the tight playoff race.

Next: 20 Greatest Goal Scorers In Tampa Bay Lightning History

What are your thoughts on the Lightning’s 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers? Are there any areas you see which need work? Does this team finally look to be turning a corner in terms of getting on the type of extended winning streak needed to go deep into the playoffs? Please feel free to leave your comments below.

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