The Tampa Bay Lightning walked into the arena of their in-state rivals and left with a 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Tampa Bay was the first team on the scoreboard, as defenseman Emil Lilleberg ripped a top-shelf shot 12:19 into the game. Florida tied the score with a power-play goal in the second period, but the visitors got the final say.
Jack Finley’s first NHL goal on a third-period breakaway stood as the game-winner, and the Lightning added an empty-net goal.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 23 saves in the game.
The Lightning are now 9-6-2 this season and close a back-to-back series at home on Sunday against the Vancouver Canucks.
Scoring Summary
First period
TBL 1, FLA 0
12:19 Emil Lilleberg (2) - Nikita Kucherov
Lilleberg got the offense going in Saturday’s game, skating to the left faceoff circle and sending his shot into the top corner of the Panthers net.
Shots on goal: TBL 10, FLA 6
Second period
TBL 1, FLA 1
11:31 Brad Marchand (12) - Sam Reinhart - PP
Florida evened the score on the power play when an offensive zone faceoff was followed by a backhand goal from Brad Marchand.
Shots on goal: TBL 7, FLA 7
Third period
TBL 2, FLA 1
3:46 Jack Finley (1) - Curtis Douglas, Scott Sabourin
Finley deked to his backhand and buried his first NHL goal over Sergei Bobrovsky’s legpad on a breakaway for a lead early in the third period.
TBL 3, FLA 1
19:09 Zemgus Girgensons (3) - Yanni Gourde - EN
Tampa Bay sealed the win on an empty-net goal from Zemgus Girgensons in the game’s final minute.
Total shots: FLA 24, TBL 20
