RECAP: Panthers 2, Lightning 1

SUNRISE, Fla. – Aleksander Barkov scored a pair of goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves as the Florida Panthers held on for a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.

Improving to 38-21-3, the Panthers ended the Lightning’s winning streak at eight games.

“I really liked it,” Barkov said of the win, which is Florida’s fourth straight . “We had a good effort the whole game. We knew that they’re a really good team and playing really well, so we had to be at our best. We did a lot of good things throughout the whole game. At the end when we had to defend, Bob (Bobrovsky) was there for us and gave us a chance to win.”

Acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, Seth Jones looked right at home in his debut with Florida, seeing 22:56 of ice time, including 4:08 on the penalty kill.

The Panthers also controlled 55.56% of shot attempts when he was deployed at 5-on-5.

“He’s going to be really good for us,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Jones, who skated on the team’s second defensive pairing. “He moves the puck clean, and he’s got a set of hands on him. … I was really pleased at his ability to process and play the game. We’ll get the systems down. We’ll get all the other stuff down, which will make him faster. He’s a good pro.”

Making it through the first period unscathed, the Panthers stood tall during two penalty kills against Tampa Bay’s lethal power play. Coming up in the clutch, Bobrovsky made more than few huge saves, including robbing Mitchell Chaffee on a point-blank shot from in tight.

Showing off his all-world shot, Barkov broke through for the Panthers in the second period when he intercepted a clearing attempt, ditched a would-be defender along the boards and then beat Andrei Vasilevskiy with a laser of a wrister down the slot to make it 1-0 at 9:02.

Staying hot, Barkov struck again and doubled the lead for the Panthers later in the period on the power play when he collected a pass from Mackie Samoskevich, turned and beat Vasilevskiy with another wicked wrist shot from the high slot to make it 2-0 at 15:16.

Closing out the period, the Panthers killed off a four-minute power play for the Lightning.

In the end, the Panthers went a perfect 7-for-7 in the penalty kill in the win.

“I thought we were on the same page,” Bobrovsky said of the PK. “We played smart, and Forsy (Gustav Forsling) was outstanding. I thought he had to be a star tonight with the blocks that he made. He made so many blocks.”

Finally getting the Lightning on the board early in the third period, Brayden Point chased down his own rebound and backhanded a shot just past Bobrovsky to make it 2-1 at 2:07.

Keeping the game from being tied, the Panthers enjoyed a bit of luck and skill.

Just after the end of yet another power play for the Lightning, Anthony Cirelli pounced on a loose puck in the slot and fired a shot that went off the cross bar and straight down.

Despite three Lightning skaters in the area, Eetu Luostarinen managed to fight his way into the blue paint and clear the puck out of harm’s way as it was sitting just behind Bobrovsky.

With 3:55 left, the Panthers went to the power play after a holding penalty on Tampa Bay.

But even up a man, the biggest highlight ended up being a game-saving stop.

Providing the heroics, Bobrovsky denied Ryan McDonagh on a shorthanded breakaway.

“He had so much time, so he started pretty early,” Bobrovsky said of the save. “I was able to set up early. It was a really timely save.”

From there, the Panthers held on to pocket a pair of huge points.

A playoff-type game as always, Florida finished with a 38-12 edge in hits.

“It was a tight game at times, and then it just broke open to a huge chance, and then the goaltenders, right?” Maurice said. “Our penalty kill won us the game, and Sergei Bobrovsky is a huge part of that.”

THEY SAID IT

“He’s a good player. Everyone knows how good of a player he is. I think he fit in right away. From what I know, he loves it here already.” – Aleksander Barkov on Seth Jones

“I thought before he scored, he was right on. He was looking really good.” – Paul Maurice on Aleksander Barkov

“The atmosphere was great. They’ve got a good team; We’ve got a good team. It’s fun hockey.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on playing the Lightning

CATS STATS

- The Panthers improved to 27-6-0 when scoring first.

- Anton Lundell went 10-for-16 (62.5%) in the faceoff circle.

- Niko Mikkola logged a team-high eight hits.

- Gustav Forsling blocked a team-high four shots on goal.

- Aleksander Barkov recorded his sixth multi-point performance in his last 10 games.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will try to stretch their winning streak to five games when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.