(Tampa) The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Florida Panthers 2-0 on Monday night to sweep the four-game series and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Posted yesterday at 10:07 p.m.
Pat Maroon and Ondrej Palat, in an empty net, blacked out the scoresheet for the Lightning, who won a 10and consecutive series.
The Lightning, two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, have joined the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens in the select club of franchises that have won at least 10 consecutive playoffs. It is trying to become the first franchise to win the Stanley Cup three years in a row in 40 years, and will face in the Eastern Finals the winning team of the duel between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers.
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 49 shots he faced, earning his first shutout of the playoffs.
Vasilevskiy, who entered Monday night’s game having conceded just one goal in each of his previous four outings, has allowed just one goal in his last seven starts in a game that sealed the tie a series.
His opponent, Sergei Bobrovsky, made 23 saves for the Panthers, the NHL’s best team in the regular season.
Head coach Jon Cooper’s men worked hard before they could finally open the scoring.
Alex Killorn, midway through the second period, then Nikita Kucherov, just 48 seconds later, saw their respective nets disallowed by the referees after the video replay.
It was finally Maroon who put the Lightning on the board, 6:16 into the third period. It was his second goal of the playoffs, and veteran Zack Bogosian had an assist on the streak.
Then, as the final minutes of the game ticked away, the Panthers were given a power play courtesy of Palat. The latter received a penalty for delaying the game by sending the puck into the stands, while trying to clear his territory.
Head coach Andrew Brunette’s men knocked on Vasilevskiy’s door a few times, but were never able to outsmart him.
Then, Cirelli jumped on a loose puck and cleared his territory. Palat, fresh from the dungeon, collected the rubber in Panthers territory before shooting it into an empty net, with 23 seconds left in the game.
The Panthers were officially on vacation. They thus became the first Presidents’ Trophy winners to be swept by the defending Stanley Cup champions in the playoffs since the Edmonton Oilers swept the Calgary Flames en route to winning the NHL title in 1988.