The final result for the Tampa Bay Lightning was never in doubt on Thursday night against the other team from Florida at Benchmark International Arena.
Tampa Bay defeated their in-state rival Florida Panthers 6-1 in the final game before the 2026 Winter Olympics behind six goals from Olympians and 33 saves from goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Brandon Hagel, Zemgus Girgensons, Jake Guentzel, Erik Cernak, Pontus Holmberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand had the goals for Tampa Bay, which improved to 37-14-4 this season.
Tampa Bay enters the Olympic break 19-1-1 in its last 21 games and will resume NHL play on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Scoring summary
First period
TBL 1, FLA 0
2:08 Brandon Hagel (27) - Victor Hedman
The Lightning snagged the early lead with Brandon Hagel’s redirection of Victor Hedman’s shot from the point.
TBL 2, FLA 0
14:08 Zemgus Girgensons (7) - Pontus Holmberg, Yanni Gourde
Zemgus Girgensons doubled the home team’s advantage when he corralled the puck in front of the Florida net and fired a shot through the leg pads of Florida goalie Daniil Tarasov.
Shots on goal: FLA 19, TBL 7
Second period
TBL 3, FLA 0
1:14 Jake Guentzel (26) - Darren Raddysh, Nikita Kucherov - PP
The Lightning took advantage of their first power-play chance in the game to open the second period, making it 3-0 on a Jake Guentzel rebound goal near the right post.
TBL 4, FLA 0
17:50 Erik Cernak (1) - Ryan McDonagh, Dominic James
Defenseman Erik Cernak extended the lead late in the second with his wraparound goal late in the middle frame.
Shots on goal: TBL 11, FLA 9
Third period
TBL 5, FLA 0
6:09 Pontus Holmberg (9) - Goncalves, Oliver Bjorkstrand - PP
Tampa Bay got another power-play goal on a 5-on-3 chance after Florida coach Paul Maurice was ejected. Pontus Holmberg deposited his chance in front of the net, winning a battle to the puck.
TBL 5, FLA 1
9:50 Mackie Samoskevich (6) - Jesper Boqvist, Anton Lundell - PP
Florida broke into the scoring with a power-play shot midway through the third period.
TBL 6, FLA 1
15:41 Oliver Bjorkstrand (10) - Unassisted
Tampa Bay closed the scoring after a Florida turnover, this goal coming on an Oliver Bjorkstrand shot from the circle.
Total shots: FLA 34, TBL 28
