RECAP: Lightning 3, Panthers 1

SUNRISE, Fla. – The first battle is over, but the war wages on.

Meeting for the first time this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning took the first Battle of Florida by a score of 3-1 over the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

“I don’t like this loss,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said. “We’ll take this tonight and then come ready to play next game.”

Florida now sits at 9-8-1, while Tampa Bay improved to 9-6-2.

“They did a real good job blocking shots,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “We had 37 that never got to the net. That’s a bit of a challenge. I liked our penalty kill. That was the highlight of the game. Did a real good job with that. Didn’t generate much 5-on-5; didn’t give up much.”

Opening the scoring for the Lightning after an icing by the Panthers, defenseman Emil Lilleberg buried a snipe from the left circle to make it 1-0 at 12:19 of the first period.

Taking that lead into the first intermission, the Lightning led 10-6 in shots on goal after 20 minutes.

Picking up a point in his 10^th straight game, Brad Marchand, one of the hottest players in the NHL at the moment, evened the score for the Panthers in the second period when he beat Andrei Vasilevskiy with his patented backhand on the power play to make it 1-1 at 11:31.

“He (Marchand) brings a lot,” said forward Anton Lundell, who recorded the secondary assist on the goal. “He’s playing at a very high level. I feel everything he touches goes in the net right now, so just try to feed him the puck. It’s been fun to watch.”

Leading the Panthers with 12 goals, Marchand has scored seven times in his last seven games.

Putting the Lightning back on top in the third period, Jack Finley slipped free and tucked a backhand shot around Sergei Bobrovsky's right pad on a breakaway to make it 2-1 at 4:09.

Playing in his seventh NHL game, it was the first goal of Finley’s career.

Staying within striking distance, the Panthers killed off two power plays in the final frame.

“I think we’re synced,” Forsling said of the success on the penalty kill. “We worked together, got the pucks out. We know they have real good power play and we were ready for that.”

Earning a four-minute trip to the man advantage after Evan Rodrigues was high-sticked by Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak, the Panthers unfortunately couldn’t find the equalizer.

Having some of the wind taken out of their sails, poor officiating cost the Panthers some important time late in the game when Sam Bennett, after being blown up by an uncalled interference, was sent to the box for roughing after the referees failed to police the event.

Following that penalty, there weas just 5:10 remaining in regulation.

After the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky for the 6-on-5 advantage, Zemgus Girgensons cashed in on the empty net to extend the Lightning’s lead to 3-1 with just 50.3 seconds remaining.

A tight battle, Vasilevskiy finished with 22 saves, while Bobrovsky made 17 stops.

“There wasn’t a lot out there,” Lundell said. “It felt like a playoff game. Both teams were defending well. You just have to accept how the game goes and you have to find a way to get goals.”

THEY SAID IT

“I feel like we didn’t have the energy tonight. I don’t know why. Just a little flat.” – Gustav Forsling

“We play against each other a lot in the playoffs. That always brings some emotion.” – Anton Lundell

CATS STATS

- Brad Marchand has scored in six of his last seven games.

- Aaron Ekblad logged a team-high five hits.

- Anton Lundell has dished out four assists over his last two games.

- The Panthers allowed just two shot attempts at 5-on-5 in the third period.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will continue their homestand with a matchup against the Vancouver Canucks at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

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