TAMPA, Fla — Nate Schmidt scored his third goal in two games, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Sam Bennett added an empty-netter with 4 seconds left. Bobrovsky got his fourth career playoff shutout, and his first since Game 1 of last year’s Stanley Cup final against Edmonton.
Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 21 saves for Tampa Bay.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will be Saturday at Sunrise.
Schmidt, who scored twice in Game 1, got the Panthers on the scoreboard 4:15 into the game following an icing call against Tampa Bay. Aleksander Barkov won the faceoff clean back to Sam Reinhart who passed it over to Schmidt for a one-timer from the right circle that beat Vasilevskiy.
The goal came after Tampa Bay misfired on two open looks when Jake Guentzel was alone at the post and missed the net 53 seconds in, then Brayden Point was open between the hashmarks and put a backhand chance wide at 1:52.
The Lightning, who finished fifth in the league on the power play in the regular season, went 0 for 5 and were held to just two shots on goal on the advantages.
Barkov left the game midway through the third period after a hit from Brandon Hagel, who received a five-minute major for interference on the play at 9:51. Barkov did not return.
'Cruise lights' on Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office patrol cars raise questions, confusion among drivers
Every driver knows that when you see red and blue flashing lights on a patrol car, you slow down, pull over, or get out of the way.
But in Hillsborough County, drivers will also now see deputies with their lights on, but not flashing. They're called "cruise lights," and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) recently implemented their use on all patrol vehicles.
