SUNRISE, FL (SNN-TV) – The Tampa Bay Lightning won the first two games of their playoff series with the Florida Panthers on the road last year, and they’re halfway to a repeat performance.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Andrei Vasilevskiy remained red-hot with 34 saves and the Lightning topped the Panthers 4-1 in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series last night.
Nikita Kucherov and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist, and Ross Colton also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who went ahead 1-0 against their in-state rivals for the second consecutive season.
Game 2 is tomorrow night at FLA Live Arena at 7pm.