The Tampa Bay Lightning advanced to the Conference Finals for the third year in a row after a 2-0 win over the Florida Panthers, completing a sweep in four games.
It’s the sixth straight win for the Lightning in the postseason, after winning Game’s 6 and 7 in their first round series win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as all four games against the Panthers.
Despite the loss, the Panthers dominated a majority of the game, especially in the first period when they outshot the Lightning 18-3. The Lightning got a few more chances in the second period, resulting in two goals that were called back to keep it scoreless through two.
But the dam had to break eventually. Despite all the Panthers’ hard work, it was the Lightning who were rewarded with the opening goal, as Pat Maroon deflected a Zach Bogosian shot, and the puck found it’s way into the back of the net.
That ended up as the deciding goal of the game, as Andrei Vasilevskiy continued his spectacular play and stopped all 49 shots in the game for the shutout, his fifth shutout in his last six series-clinching games. Ondrej Palat got the empty net goal to seal the deal, and Tampa will move on with a 2-0 win.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will advance to the Conference Finals for the third consecutive season, as well as the sixth time in their last eight seasons. This will be the Lightning’s tenth consecutive series win in the postseason, as they aim to win their third straight Stanley Cup.
The Florida Panthers head into the offseason with under $4 million in cap space for next season after Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe’s contract extensions kick in, with Claude Giroux, Ben Chiarot, and Mason Marchment all being unrestricted free agents this offseason.
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