TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brayden Level had a objective and two assists to steer the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-1 victory towards the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Nikita Kucherov had a objective and an assists and Yanni Gourde added two assists. Conor Geekie, Jake Guentzel and Darren Raddysh additionally scored for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 23 photographs.
Brad Marchand scored for Florida, which completed its common season schedule. Vitek Vanecek completed with 26 saves.
The groups will meet within the opening spherical of the playoffs beginning this weekend.
Tampa Bay scored three targets within the first interval, with Level scoring 1:32 into the sport. Geekie made it 2-0 with 4:35 left earlier than Guentzel scored shorthanded with 1:51 to play within the interval.
Kucherov made it 4-0 nearly 5 minutes into the second, however Marchand answered a few minute later.
Raddysh scored a 5-on-3 energy=play objective with 8:38 to play moments after Florida’s Jesse Puljujarvi was assessed a match penalty for an unlawful examine to the pinnacle to Mitchell Chaffee.
Takeaways
Panthers: Florida performed with out regulars Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Gustav Forsling, Anton Lundell and A.J. Greer. … Marchand’s objective is his second since becoming a member of the Panthers.
Lightning: Geekie has two targets in two video games since being recalled from AHL Syracuse. … Victor Hedman recorded his fourth 50-assisst season. … Anthony Cirelli recorded his twenty third profession shorthanded level.
Key second
Tampa Bay was up 2-0 late within the first interval when Brandon Hagel took a double-minor to negate a Lightning energy play. However seven seconds into the Florida energy play, Cirelli received a puck battle towards Seth Jones and fed Guentzel in entrance for a short-handed objective to make it 3-0.
Key stat
Kucherov reached the 120-point mark for the second consecutive season and third time in his profession to develop into simply the 14th participant in NHL historical past with three-or-more seasons of a minimum of 120 factors.
Up Subsequent
The Lightning end the common season on the New York Rangers on Thursday whereas the Panthers await Recreation 1 of their opening-round sequence towards Tampa Bay.
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