Pro Sports

Stamkos, Vasilevskiy lead Lightning to 2-1 win over Panthers

Posted December 11, 2019 6:00 am

By PAUL GEREFFI

Tampa Bay Lightning's Steven Stamkos (91) reacts after scoring a goal against Florida Panthers goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) The Associated Press

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning looked plenty fresh in the second leg of back-to-back games.

Stamkos and Alex Killorn scored to lead the Lightning over the Florida Panthers 2-1 on Tuesday night. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots for Tampa Bay, which lost 5-1 at home to the New York Islanders on Monday night.

'œIt was a great effort,'ť coach Jon Cooper said. 'œIt was a game where we seemed like we played pretty consistent all the way through. On a back-to-back like that when we're traveling, pretty impressed with the way the guys played.'ť

Evgenii Dadonov had the goal for the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky made a season-high 46 saves in his third straight start, but it was a wasted effort as Florida played like the team that was tired.

'œHe had a very good game again tonight,'ť Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. 'œI thought he was outstanding. It's disappointing we didn't help him out.'ť

'œThey played it like it was one of the biggest games of the year for them,'ť he added. 'œIt was a good measuring stick for us to meet that type of challenge. It's a learning curve and we have to be better and expect a much better performance from our team.'ť

Stamkos gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead when he weaved his way through the defense in front and swept the puck in with 13:18 left in the first period.

'œWe talked about it last game that we needed to tighten up. I thought we did a great job,'ť Stamkos said. 'œI thought it was a good response from us.'ť

Killorn made it 2-0 at 4:51 of the second when he grabbed a rebound and put the puck behind Bobrovsky.

'œThey've got so many good skilled (players) up front,'ť Bobrovsky said. 'œUnfortunately, to lose that hockey game was big for us. But we still did some good things in the game.'ť

Dadonov's goal with two minutes remaining in the game cut it to 2-1.

'œObviously back-to-back, but they weren't tired,'ť Panthers center Jonathan Huberdeau said. 'œThey came at us. They were good, but I think it's our fault. We looked flat and we've just got to be better than that if we want to win some games.'ť

The Panthers appeared to score when Brett Connolly deflected a shot from MacKenzie Weegar into the net with 8:51 to go in the third. It was initially ruled a goal but that was overturned when Connolly was called for a high stick.

'œThey usually stay with the call but maybe they had a different view of it,'ť Quenneville said.

NOTES: Lightning C Tyler Johnson missed his second game and is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. ... Panthers D Mark Pysyk and C Denis Malgin were healthy scratches.

UP NEXT

Lightning: Visit the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

Panthers: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday.

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Tampa Bay Lightning's Steven Stamkos (91) scores a goal against Florida Panthers goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky, right, as Panthers' Dominic Toninato, left, defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Lightning's Anthony Cirelli (71) and goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy, right, watch the puck as Florida Panthers' Noel Acciari (55) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Lightning's Ondrej Palat, top, and Florida Panthers' MacKenzie Weegar, bottom, look for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) The Associated Press

Florida Panthers' Evgenii Dadonov (63) moves the puck as Tampa Bay Lightning goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy, left, and Kevin Shattenkirk (22) defend during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Lightning's Kevin Shattenkirk (22) checks Florida Panthers' Evgenii Dadonov (63) as goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy, left, watches during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) The Associated Press

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