RECAP: Bobrovsky earns historic win as Panthers take down Tampa Bay

Helping the Florida Panthers pocket two crucial points in the playoff race, Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves in a 4-1 win over the rival Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Tuesday.
Improving to 30-26-6, Florida sits three points out of a playoff spot with 20 games left.

"It's just one shot at a time," said Bobrovsky, who now holds the NHL record for most wins by a Russian-born goaltender with 354. "We know how dangerous they are on the power play and on the offensive side of the game. It takes all of us. We're all on the same page and we beat a really good team."
Continuing his resurgent season, Eric Staal opened the scoring when he re-directed a point shot from Josh Mahura into the top of the cage to put the Panthers up 1-0 at 6:19 of the first period.
After winning a foot race to a loose puck in the offensive zone, Anton Lundell cut toward the net and scored on Andrei Vasilevskiy to extend Florida's lead to 2-0 at 15:56. Just 1:41 later, fellow Finn Eetu Luostarinen beat Vasilevskiy from the slot to make it 3-0 at 17:37.

Coming out strong, Florida led 16-4 in shots on goal after 20 minutes.
"We loved our start coming out," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. "We had a lot of jump."
In the second period, the Lightning thought they got on the board when Nick Perbix managed to sneak the puck past Bobrovsky. But immediately after the goal, the Panthers challenged for offside. Following a quick review, officials agreed and the goal was taken down.
On a power play later in the period, the Lightning finally broke through when Brayden Point collected a pass from Steven Stamkos and scored from the slot to make it 3-1 at 11:39.
Back on the man advantage in the third period, Stamkos appeared to make it a one-goal game when he fired the puck off Bobrovsky's pads and in from behind the net. But with Bobrovsky being shoved down by Alex Killorn prior to the goal, Florida challenged for goalie interference. Just as it was earlier in the game, the Panthers won the challenge and maintained their two-goal cushion.
"Overall, I think we played really good as a team," Panthers forward Anton Lundell said. "Of course, good goalies always make those important saves, and [Bobrovsky] did today for us."
With the Lightning pulling their goaltender to gain a 6-on-5 advantage with just under four minutes left in regulation, the Panthers and Bobrovsky continued to stand tall until Anthony Duclair cashed in on the empty net to lock in the 4-1 win with five seconds left on the clock.
Of Bobrovsky's 28 saves, 18 came in the third period.
"At the end of the day, there wouldn't be a guy or a piece to our game that I didn't like," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "Our goaltending was really good, in the second half especially."

CATS QUOTES

"I think all the guys were ready to step up. We know those are two big players in our lineup, but it means it's an opportunity for somebody else. We need to win games even if we don't have them. I'm really happy about the team's performance today."- Anton Lundell on winning without Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett
"We defended well in the third period especially. We came together. Even in the second period the backchecks, the blocked shots, the feeling that we defended as a unit, that's the huge thing for us. Hopefully we can keep that going." - Sergei Bobrovsky on Florida's defensive effort
"He just keeps getting better. He played in the Stanley Cup Final a few years ago. He's getting back to that form. It took him a little while at the start. It's not just the play, it's the smarts on the ice." - Paul Maurice on Eric Staal

CATS NOTES

• Eric Staal has tallied 79 points (35 goals, 44 assists) in 78 career games against the Lightning.
  - The Panthers led 60-41 in shot attempts at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
  - Radko Gudas matched a career-high with seven blocked shots.
  - Sergei Bobrovsky owns a 10-4-1 record over his last 16 appearances.
  - The Panthers held the Lightning to just six shots on goal over their five power plays.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Panthers (30-26-6) will head back to Sunrise to kick off a seven-game homestand with a matchup against the Nashville Predators (29-23-6) at FLA Live Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
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