The Tampa Bay Lightning posted a quick 3-0 lead after the first period and fought off a Florida Panthers comeback in the second before taking a 6-3 win and forcing Game 5 back in Florida on Monday evening.
Steven Stamkos scored two goals while Nikita Kucherov passed out three assists as the Lightning were able to lengthen the series.
Tampa Bay was also relieved and inspired to get star defenseman Mikhail Sergachev back on the ice after a torn tibia and fibia in a Feb. 7 loss to the New York Rangers.
“In a normal introduction, you hear all the cheers and it gets to Vasilevskiy and there’s a message here,” explained Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “I could not hear the P.A. guy say Vasilevskiy’s name. The roar just keeps going on and all the guys on our bench just got up. It was a stirring moment and I thought we carried that into the first period.”
Sergachev explained how thankful he was to have been able to return this year and in the playoffs as Tampa Bay has needed his presence.
“The docs cleared me and it was a coach’s decision,” Sergachev explained. “I stayed at the rink a little longer waiting for Coach to say yes or no. He said, ‘Yes,’ and I got very excited and couldn’t sleep last night.”
Sergachev was on the ice for 17:03 as he picked up an assist and two blocked shots.
Tampa Bay took a 3-0 lead after the first period as the Lightning finally reconnected on the power play when Stamkos opened scoring for Tampa Bay with the first goal at 8:04 in the first. He also generally put away the game with a goal at even strength at 9:34 in the third period.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper iterated the importance of Stamkos’ power play marker after Tampa Bay had already missed an opportunity at 2:40 on a tripping penalty on Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk.
“Goal scorers are used to scoring goals and sometimes there is a little bit of a slump and sometimes they will get super streaky,” said Cooper. “The same thing can be said for a power play. It just gets magnified in the playoffs.”
Stamkos’ power play marker was an impactful goal for the Lightning were only 2-for-12 on the odd-man advantage throughout the first three games. This season Tampa Bay led the NHL by converting 28.5 percent of its power play opportunities.
“That was a big reason why we struggled last game, we had those power plays early and didn’t capitalize, said Stamkos. “To get that confidence boost, to go up 3-0 to start the game and play with the lead a little bit. We have been chasing all series.”
Tampa Bay went ahead 5-3 in the third when Stamkos fired from the back of the left circle as Kucherov found him when he gained control of a loose puck when Matt Dumba’s shot was blocked.
“For us to hold them to five shots and to frustrate them a little, that was big for us,” Cooper said. “Now was Stammer’s goal big for us? Of course, it was, so whoever was going to get the next goal would get the momentum. Fortunate of the run, we got it.”
Stamkos highlighted the Lightning’s struggles in the series as they were wrapped around a slow power play
“That was a big reason why we struggled last game, we had those power plays early and didn’t capitalize,” noted Stamkos. “To get that confidence boost, to go up 3-0 to start the game and play with the lead a little bit. We have been chasing all series.”
Tampa Bay center Brayden Point picked up a goal and two assists. He took the puck from Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling in the Florida zone and skated around the net and dropped it past Bobrovsky’s right side. Aaron Ekblad was in the crease and made it tough for Bobrovsky to be able to make a play on the puck.
Vasilevskiy stopped 22-of-25 Panthers’ shots while Tampa Bay outshot Florida for the first time in this series, 32-25.
