Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Match Player Stats On Feb 28, 2023

Florida centers Eric Staal, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen scored first-period goals as the patchwork Panthers broke Tampa Bay's club-record 16-game home point streak, beating the Lightning 4-1 on Tuesday night.

For the second consecutive game, the Panthers were without their top two centers, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett. The duo also missed Friday's 3-1 home loss against the Buffalo Sabres.

However, the three Florida pivots found the net as the Panthers harassed the Lightning in the first period.

Sergei Bobrovsky's 29 saves helped him set a record for most NHL wins by a Russian goaltender (354). Nick Cousins had two assists.

Brayden Point had a power-play goal, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 37 shots. Nikita Kucherov stretched his franchise-record home point streak to 20 games with an assist.

In the final two periods, the Lightning had five consecutive power plays but only netted on one of them. They failed to earn a point on home ice for the first time in 17 games (14-1-2).

Florida defenseman Casey Fitzgerald and Tampa Bay right winger Tanner Jeannot debuted for their clubs.

After the Panthers dealt Tampa Bay its worst loss this season in a 7-1 drubbing in South Florida three weeks ago, the visitors kept up the scoring in the first period when Staal sent his 12th goal in on a long chip at 6:19.

During the relentless frame, Florida pressured the Lightning and went up 3-0 while holding the defending Eastern Conference champions without a shot for the final 15:21.

Lundell notched his ninth goal from in close at 15:56 while Luostarinen recorded his 14th less than two minutes later. Matthew Tkachuk appeared to add a fourth marker with three seconds remaining, but the Lightning had a successful challenge for goaltender interference.

Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix scored at 13:21 of the second, but Florida challenged for offside and was successful. However, Tampa Bay's second-ranked power play found the net when Point shoveled in his team-best 37th goal at 11:39.

Steven Stamkos potted a goal just over three minutes into the third, but linemate Alex Killorn collided with Bobrovsky. Florida challenged for goalie interference, and the Lightning's second tally was overturned.

After failing on three power plays in the third while down two goals, Tampa Bay pulled Vasilevskiy with over three minutes left. Anthony Duclair's empty-net goal -- his first this season -- off a Staal pass punctuated the victory and gave Staal a two-point night.

--Field Level Media