Lightning defeat Panthers in exhibition game in NHL return

Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat combined for 10 points and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Florida Panthers 5-0 in an exhibition game at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city for the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, on Wednesday.

Point had two goals and two assists, Kucherov scored two goals and one assist and Palat had three assists filling in for Steven Stamkos (lower body) on the top line. The Lightning led the NHL in goals per game (3.47) and was one of two teams (Winnipeg Jets) with four players to score at least 25 goals (Kucherov, 33; Stamkos, 29; Alex Killorn, 26; Point, 25) before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

"[Point and Kucherov] are two exceptional players that can make creative, skilled plays at a high pace," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "They've had time to play together and they've had some chemistry. Talking to guys on the bench about some of the plays they made ... many hockey league players right now are marveling at what they're doing.

"It's great that they're on our team. Many other players can do the same thing but those two have really garnered a rapport together and hopefully it continues."

The Qualifiers -- eight best-of-5 series and two four team round-robins -- begin Saturday. Each of the 24 participating teams will play one exhibition game, with six in Toronto and six in Edmonton, the Western Conference hub city.

The Lightning play their first round-robin game against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Monday (3 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN360, TVAS, SUN, NBCSWA). They also play the Boston Bruins (Aug. 5), and Philadelphia Flyers (Aug. 8) to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Luke Schenn scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves for Tampa Bay.

"The key (in the exhibition) was getting the timing back," Point said. "Practice is hard to simulate getting into game shape or game speed and exhibition isn't quite playoff speed but it definitely helps to get that timing back."

In addition to Stamkos, the Lightning were without defenseman Victor Hedman (personal). The Panthers played without defenseman Aaron Ekblad (undisclosed).

Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves for Florida. The goalie struggled in his first season with the Panthers after signing a seven-year contract July 1, 2019. His 3.23 goals-against average is the highest of his 10 NHL seasons, and his .900 save percentage is his lowest since 2011-12 (.899).

"I thought [Bobrovsky] got better as the game went on," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "He battled and did what he had to do under the circumstances. We're going to need everyone across the board to be better."

The Panthers, the No. 10 seed in the East, will play the New York Islanders, the No. 7 seed, in a best-of-5 qualifier series beginning Saturday at Scotiabank Arena (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN1, TVAS, MSG+, FS-F).

"It certainly is a wake-up call and how we respond to that is going to be one of those days where you can't be happy with the results and looking for a better effort across the board," Quenneville said. "We've got two practices, so we'll address it. We've got to be better in all areas."

Point scored twice in the first period, on a backhand at 13:42 and a wrist shot over Bobrovsky's left shoulder after taking a stretch pass from Kevin Shattenkirk at center ice to give Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead at 19:55.

Kucherov made it 3-0 with a power-play goal from the right face-off circle at 1:53 of the second. Schenn gave the Lightning a 4-0 lead at 5:13. Kucherov scored off a pass from Point to make it 5-0 at 9:12 of the third.

Vasilevskiy, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy given to the top goalie in the NHL who was voted the winner in 2018-19, won an NHL-high 35 games with a 2.56 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and three shutouts.

"It's [inspiring] to watch to tic-tac passes and nice goals," Vasilevskiy said. "Of course, that kind of picks up the confidence."

Cooper was asked if being swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round after the Lightning won 62 regular-season games is motivation this season.

"It's not something we're going to bring up," Cooper said. "We talked about it early when the season started but the more we talked about it, the more it seemed to get in the way, so it's in the past. It's part of hockey history. Now it's time to see if we can rewrite a different ending but to sit back and look in the rearview mirror is pointless. We have to look ahead and create our own path."