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National Hockey League
Florida 2, Tampa Bay 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, March 3, 2025
Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Ryan Daisy, James Tobias
Attendance: 19441

Aleksander Barkov scored two goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves as the Florida Panthers snapped the Tampa Bay Lightning's eight-game winning streak with a 2-1 decision on Monday night in Sunrise, Fla.

Tampa Bay had held the NHL's longest active win streak, but it ended in large part due to Barkov's first multi-goal game of the season.

Florida's penalty-killing unit also delivered, going 7-for-7 as the Panthers won their fourth straight game.

The Panthers played their fifth straight game without star forward Matthew Tkachuk, who was placed on the long-term injury list on Sunday. The team confirmed he will miss the rest of the regular season with a groin injury.

For Tampa Bay, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots in his 11th straight start. He is 9-1-1 in that span.

Brayden Point scored the Lightning's goal, his team-leading 32nd of the season.

Five-time All-Star defenseman Seth Jones made his Panthers debut, providing three shots, two blocks and one hit in 22:56.

Jones was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. The Panthers dealt a 2026 first-round draft pick and backup goalie Spencer Knight to Chicago, then called up Chris Driedger to serve as Bobrovsky's backup.

After a scoreless first period, the Panthers made it 1-0 on Barkov's initial goal 10:58 left in the second.

Tampa Bay's J.J. Moser turned it over in his own end. Barkov got the puck, spun away from Point, used Victor Hedman as a screen and beat Vasilevskiy -- who never saw the shot -- from just beyond the left circle.

Six minutes later, Barkov scored a power-play goal. The sequence started when Moser made another mistake, tripping A.J. Greer.

Six seconds later, it was 2-0 as Barkov beat Luke Glendening on a faceoff before drifting to the slot, taking a pass from Mackie Samoskevich and then turning and firing a shot past Vasilevskiy's glove.

With 3:56 left in the second, Florida's Eetu Luostarinen was hit with a double-minor penalty after his high stick drew blood to the face of Jake Guentzel.

However, Tampa Bay was not able to convert on its four-minute power play.

Tampa Bay finally got on the board with 17:53 left in the third. Point scooped up his own rebound and backhanded a shot under Bobrovsky's right armpit.

A few minutes later, Tampa Bay nearly tied the score. Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov hit the crossbar on successive shots before Florida swept the puck out of danger.

Then with 2:54 left, Bobrovsky stopped Ryan McDonagh on a short-handed breakaway.

With nine seconds left, Florida was hit with a tripping penalty, but Hedman's subsequent shot to tie the score went off the right post.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Tampa Bay   Florida
Brayden Point 1 Points Aleksander Barkov 2
Brayden Point 1 Goals Aleksander Barkov 2
Jake Guentzel 1 Assists Aaron Ekblad 1
N/A Power Play Goals Aleksander Barkov 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Andrei Vasilevskiy .931 Save Percentage Sergei Bobrovsky .966
Andrei Vasilevskiy 27 Saves Sergei Bobrovsky 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Tampa Bay 29 1 0-7 2-3 6 29
Florida 29 2 1-3 7-7 14 31
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Panthers have a W/L % of .579 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Lightning have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .600 after a loss.