Panthers score twice in the third period and beat the Lightning 3-2 in Game 1 of NHL playoffs
Carter Verhaeghe tapped in a pinpoint pass from Aleksander Barkov for the lead 58 seconds into the third period, Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Game 1 of their NHL playoff series opener
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe tapped in a pinpoint pass from Aleksander Barkov for the lead 58 seconds into the third period, Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Game 1 of their NHL playoff series opener Sunday.
Barkov had two assists, Sam Reinhart also scored and Sergei Bobrovsky had 17 saves for the Panthers, who won a Game 1 on home ice for the first time since 1997.
Brandon Hagel and Steven Stamkos got the goals for Tampa Bay, which now trails Florida in a series for the first time. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 stops for the Lightning, who pulled him for an extra attacker with 3:08 remaining. Tkachuk got an empty-netter 63 seconds later, and Florida soon began celebrating a 1-0 series lead.
Stamkos scored with 9.3 seconds left for the Lightning.
