Mishkin's Extra Shift: Lightning 5, Panthers 1 - Game 3

For the third consecutive game in this series, the Lightning held the Panthers to just one goal. But this was Florida's most dynamic offensive performance in the series. More than they did in either of the first two games, the Panthers generated prime scoring chances - at least through the first two periods. But in the end, they still only scored once. Andrei Vasilevskiy had an outsized role, as he erased many of the Panthers' best chances. Also, Lightning defenders worked hard to recover after turnovers and/or breakdowns. At the other end, the Lightning were more efficient at finishing their chances through the opening 40 minutes. As a result, they took a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. Then in the third, the Lightning produced their best defensive period of the game. While it's true that the Panthers registered 15 third period shots, they weren't able to create as many Grade-A looks as they had in either of the first two periods. Over the final 20 minutes, the Lightning never allowed the Panthers (who led the NHL in comeback wins this season) to cut into the multi-goal deficit.

In the first period, the Lightning outshot the Panthers, 11-8. Shot attempts were 20-10 in favor of Tampa Bay. But those stats are misleading. The Lightning did open the scoring at 13:21, when Corey Perry deflected a Ryan McDonagh point shot past Sergei Bobrovsky. But the Panthers, despite ceding the majority of the possession in the frame to the Lightning, had the better scoring chances. Sam Reinhart's PPG broke Florida's postseason power play skid. It was a well-executed passing sequence and Reinhart finished a one-timer from the slot. Reinhart could have had two other goals in the period as well. His first chance came came when the game was still scoreless. Moments after Vasilevskiy denied Maxim Mamin's breakaway shot, the puck came to Reinhart at the top of the crease. Vasilevskiy stopped that point-blank attempt. Late in the frame, when the score was tied at one, Vasilevskiy made a side-to-side left skate save on Reinhart after Sam Bennett set up Reinhart at the back post for a potential tap-in. So four of Florida's eight first period shots were prime chances. One went in, but Vasilevskiy stopped the other three.
In the second period, the Panthers enjoyed more possession than they had in the first. They accumulated 28 shot attempts. A handful of those occurred during their two second-period power plays. Their top power play unit gained confidence from (finally) scoring a postseason goal and they zipped the puck around the offensive zone confidently during their next power play. That PP began at 6:37, shortly after Aleksander Barkov hit the post off the rush. On the power play, the Panthers held the puck in the offensive zone for almost the two full minutes. Nick Paul had broken his stick early on the kill, so for much of it, the Lightning were down a man and a stick. The Panthers posted four shots on goal and eight attempts. Vasilevskiy stopped the four shots and Lightning penalty killers blocked the other four. Then, seconds after the penalty ended, McDonagh saved a goal when he deflected Jonathan Huberdeau's close-range shot over an open net.
The Lightning got through another key kill in the closing two minutes of the second period as well. On this one, they managed some clears to help their cause. Still, the Panthers had one dangerous shot from Patric Hornqvist during the power play, Barkov missed the net, and Victor Hedman came up with a block on Anthony Duclair's attempt in the final seconds.
So the Panthers pressed in the second period (their forecheck was as good as it has been in the series during the middle frame) and did generate some good looks. But they couldn't find the back of the net. The Lightning, on the other hand, did. Twice. In the first period, Paul had momentarily left the game. While he returned in the second period, he didn't take a shift until the 6:37 mark, when the Lightning went on that aforementioned penalty kill. During Paul's absence, the Lightning rotated their forward line combinations (which were already in flux due to their 11F-7D lineup configuration). Early in the second, Ross Colton, joining Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat, took an offensive zone face-off. He won the draw from Barkov and the Lightning cycled the puck down low. Killorn fed Palat at the right circle. Palat passed the puck to the middle of the ice, where it nicked off Colton's stick and kept sliding cross-ice. It came to Cernak, who had moved to his off-side. As a righty shot on the left side of the ice, he had a good angle from which to shoot. He moved to the left circle and wristed a shot over Bobrovsky's glove at 2:54.
About four minutes later, the Panthers went on that dangerous power play. Less than two minutes after the Lightning survived the kill, they added to their lead. Hedman wired a pass to Nikita Kucherov, who took it off the boards and cruised into the offensive zone. As he sped towards the high slot, the Florida defenders also stayed in the middle. So when Kucherov worked a pass to Steven Stamkos at the left circle, Stamkos had a clean shot to the net. He drilled it off Bobrovsky and in, making it 3-1 at 10:23.
Thanks to that final kill, the Lightning got out of the period still up by a goal. And their third period was tight and clean. They cleared pucks efficiently, so they avoided long d-zone shifts. Over the first 10 minutes of the third, they spent quite a bit of time in the offensive zone themselves and generated several good looks. In the final 10 minutes, there were a number of face-offs in the Tampa Bay end, so the Panthers had opportunities to cause problems. But even when they won an o-zone face-off, the Panthers weren't able to produce great looks. They had one glorious chance with about five minutes left, but Vasilevskiy stopped Mamin's point-blank shot from the top of the crease. The puck caromed off Vasilevskiy's pad and was sliding towards the goal line. But Jan Rutta swept it away to the corner and the danger was averted.
The Panthers pulled Bobrovsky with under five minutes left, but the Lightning continued to limit chances, even through the Panthers had the extra attacker on the ice. Kucherov set up Paul for a potential empty-netter, but Paul's shot was blocked. Soon after, Paul cleared the puck from the defensive zone and Kucherov took it to the empty-net himself and stuffed it in at 16:06. Stamkos finished the scoring with another empty-netter at 17:51.
Games Three and Four are on back-to-back days, so both teams will look to put this one behind them quickly. Tomorrow's contest will determine whether the Panthers will extend the series to a Game Five on Wednesday in Sunrise or if the Lightning can close out their cross-state rivals.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 34 saves.
2. Nikita Kucherov - Lightning. Goal and three assists.
3. Ryan McDonagh - Lightning. Assist. Block on Huberdeau to save a goal.