The Florida Panthers (37-14-5) defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning (36-17-3) 4-0 on Monday night in Sunrise. The win gave Florida home ice advantage in the upcoming first round playoff series against Tampa Bay.
The Lightning were playing without Ondrej Palat, Ryan McDonagh and Victor Hedman due to injuries and Pat Maroon due to a suspension, and the Panthers took advantage. After MacKenzie Weegar scored in the first period, the Panthers got a shorthanded goal from Juho Lammikko in the second period that changed the complexion of this game. Florida added third period goals from Carter Verhaege and Alex Wennberg to take a 4-0 lead.
Chris Driedger got the shutout with 30 saves, while Andrei Vasilevskiy went 26-for-30 in net to take the loss.
The Lightning and Panthers now look ahead to a first round playoff series that will begin in Sunrise. Hear every game of the playoffs on News Radio WFLA.
PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES