The Florida Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 on Thursday night at Amalie Arena. With the win, the Panthers have won the best-of-seven series 4-1 and will advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Lightning scored first in this one, when Gage Goncalves scored just 2:33 into the game. The Panthers scored the next two to take a 2-1 lead, before Nick Paul scored to tie the game 2-2, which would be the score heading into the second period.
In the second period Aleksander Barkov scored to make it 3-2, before Jake Guentzel made it 3-3. That would be where the offense ended for Tampa Bay, as Florida scored one more in the second to take a 4-3 lead. They added some big insurance from Eetu Luostaninen in the third to make it 5-3 before a Sam Reinhart empty-net goal clinched the game at 6-3.
The Panthers will now advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For the Lightning, their season has ended in the first round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
COVER PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES