The Tampa Bay Lightning (41-11-4) completed a season series sweep of the in-state rival Florida Panthers (23-23-8), knocking off Florida 5-2 on Sunday night in Sunrise.
Nikita Kucherov got the scoring started for Tampa Bay, ending a 10-game drought without a goal at the 4:02 mark of the first period. The Lightning got a two goal lead early in the second period when Steven Stamkos scored his 29th goal to make it 2-0. Florida made it clear they were not going down without a fight, though, as Frank Vatrano scored on the following shift to cut the Lightning lead to 2-1. When Ryan Callahan, playing his first game since being told he was the last forward on the roster, scored a beautiful goal on a breakaway at the 17:51 mark, Denis Magin had an answer fifty-nine seconds later and the Lightning lead would be just one going into the second intermission.
In the third period the Bolts were finally able to break through, as Braden Point scored his 32nd goal at the 4:25 mark. Nikita Kucherov added his second goal at the 19:12 mark to clinch a 5-2 win for the Lightning and Louis Domingue's 10th consecutive win in net. Domingue needed 25 saves in 27 shots on net to complete the feat, giving him the most consecutive wins in net for a goalie in franchise history. For the Panthers, James Reimer made nine saves in twelve shots through the first two periods, before being replaced by Roberto Luongo who went 9-of-11 in goal in the third period. For Luongo, it was his 1,130th game in net, giving him the second most games played by a goalie in the history of the NHL.
The Lightning return home after the one road game to battle the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. Puck drop Tuesday is scheduled for 7:30 PM - you can hear it all, beginning with pregame coverage at 6:30 PM, on News Radio WFLA .