Another Florida turnover in the neutral zone led to a breakaway from Holmberg, who scored to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead with :08 remaining in the opening period.
“The [short-handed] goal was big for us, but to finish the period the way we did, it’s nice to go into the break with a lead,’’ Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Then, we get to extend it -- so it’s a two-goal lead. Just makes it a little harder to come back. They made it one but couldn’t make it two. The timing of those goals were big for us.”
Kucherov did extend the lead to 3-1 at 2:31 of the second period, scoring on a 2-on-1 with Brayden Point for his 14th of the season.
The Panthers scored on a power play at 7:05 to make it 3-2, Marchand scoring off a pass from Sam Bennett from the bottom of the right face-off circle.
Florida scored not long after Luke Kunin fought Curtis Douglas that seemed to give the Panthers some life.
“We worked our way into the game, got some momentum when [Kunin] took the fight. That was huge for us,” Florida defenseman Gustav Forsling said. “We got some momentum from that.”
In the third period, the Tampa Bay penalty kill was put to the test in a six-minute stretch. Scott Sabourin got minors for slashing and roughing; right after those penalties expired, Max Crozier was called for high sticking.
The Panthers did not score on any of the three power-play chances despite six shots on goal and the score remained 3-2.
Kucherov scored into an empty net at 19:04 for the 4-2 final.
Tampa Bay helped secure the win by killing off another Florida power play that started with 5:21 remaining.
“That’s where you need your goalie,” Cooper said. “Ultimately, he is your best penalty killer. They had a couple good looks, and he was there to bail us out. That’s what happens when you’re short basically the entire period. Pretty gutty win for the group not only facing Florida but face the amount of penalty kills we had.’’
In all, the Lightning killed off nine of Florida’s 10 power plays with only the tic-tac-toe goal from Marchand beating Vasilevskiy.
“Their goalie made a bunch of real good saves there to keep them with the lead,” Maurice said. “You always want more, right? We would have tied the game if we got one by him. But we were down 3-1 on a play were chasing that we don’t need to. I don’t think we established what we wanted to do offensively.”
The Lightning have won two of the first three games of the season series against the Panthers, both in Sunrise. The two teams, who have met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in four of the past five seasons, play for the fourth and final time during the regular season on Feb. 5 at Tampa Bay.
“The rivalry games are intense hockey,’’ Guentzel said. “For us, the main thing is two points, but you have to be ready to go in all situations. You have to be ready for whatever it brings.”
NOTES: Before the game, the Lightning announced they had signed defenseman J.J. Moser to an eight-year, $54 million contract ($6.75 million average annual) that begins next season. … Kucherov is the fifth Tampa Bay player to have 50 points or more against the Panthers. Kucherov hit the 50-point mark in his 41st game with his empty-net goal (23 goals, 27 assists). … Kucherov also scored his 61st game-winning goal which puts him sixth in Lightning history.
