Tampa Bay 5, Florida 1
When: 1:30 PM ET, Sunday, May 22, 2022
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees:
Frederick L'Ecuyer, Dan O'Rourke
Linesmen:
Steve Barton, Ryan Daisy
Attendance:
19092
By Field Level Media
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the visiting Florida Panthers 5-1 in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Sunday and move within one win of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for a third straight season.
Steven Stamkos scored two goals for Tampa Bay, and Corey Perry and Erik Cernak also scored. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 34 saves for the Lightning, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions who will bring a 3-0 lead into Game 4 on Monday night in Tampa.
Vasilevskiy held the Toronto Maple Leafs to one goal in a 2-1 victory in Game 7 of their first-round series, and he has limited the Panthers to one goal in each of the first three games of this series.
Sam Reinhart scored Sunday, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves for Florida, which had the best record in the NHL during the regular season.
Perry, who turned 37 earlier in the week, scored for the third straight game, off a deflection in front of the net to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 13:21 of the first period.
Brandon Hagel was penalized for cross-checking Eetu Luostarinen into the end boards, and the Panthers went on their first power play at 15:29 of the first.
Florida came in 0-for-25 with the man-advantage in these playoffs, but Reinhart scored on the ensuing power play to make the score 1-1 at 16:07.
Cernak used Florida defenseman MacKenzie Weegar as a screen and scored with a wrist shot from the left circle to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead at 2:54 of the second period.
Aleksander Barkov hit the post for the Panthers at 5:59 before the Lightning stretched the lead to 3-1 on a one-timer from the left circle by Stamkos.
Kucherov scored into an empty net to make it 4-1 with 3:54 left. Stamkos then hit the empty net with 2:09 remaining.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Florida |
|
Tampa Bay |
|
Sam Reinhart 1 |
Points |
Nikita Kucherov 4 |
|
Sam Reinhart 1 |
Goals |
Steven Stamkos 2 |
|
Aleksander Barkov 1 |
Assists |
Nikita Kucherov 3 |
|
Sam Reinhart 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Sergei Bobrovsky .912 |
Save Percentage |
Andrei Vasilevskiy .971 |
|
Sergei Bobrovsky 31 |
Saves |
Andrei Vasilevskiy 34 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Florida
|
35 |
1 |
1-3 |
2-2 |
4 |
31 |
| Tampa Bay
|
36 |
5 |
0-2 |
2-3 |
6 |
25 |
Upcoming Games
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Florida. The Lightning have a W/L % of .612 after a win and .607 after a loss.
-
Florida will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay. The Panthers have a W/L % of .741 after a win and .625 after a loss.
For more information, contact us