Longtime Lightning forward scores twice in possible home swan song
If this was Steven Stamkos' last game at Amalie Arena as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, he made it count.
The veteran forward scored two goals in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers and helped stave off elimination in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
With Tampa Bay down 3-1 in the series, Game 5 on Monday will shift to Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL.
If the the Lightning can't pull off a miracle and win the next three games, there is no guarantee that Stamkos will wear a Tampa Bay jersey again after this series.
That's because his eight-year, $68 million contract ends this season and unless he and general manager Julien BriseBois can get a deal negotiated before July 1, Stamkos will become a free agent.
It's hard to imagine the Lightning's 34-year-old captain with another team but that could be the result of economic realities of the situation.
On Saturday, Stamkos put Tampa Bay on the board with a power-play goal midway through the first period and later made it 5-3, 9:34 into the third period.
It was the seventh career multi-goal playoff game for the greatest player in the history of the Lightning franchise and its all-time leader in goals (555) and points (1,137).
Tampa Bay also got a boost from the return of defenseman Mikhail Sergechev, who returned only 80 days after breaking the tibia and fibula of his left leg on Feb. 7.
Sergachev started the game – with Erik Cernak as his partner – and had an assist and a hit in 17:03 of ice time.
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