Sam Reinhart scored twice, and goalie Spencer Knight led an inspired defense as the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2. The loss was highlighted by several mistakes by the Bolts on special teams.
Knight took control of the tempo early, stopping several key rushes in the first period. Florida also took advantage of sloppy play by the Bolts when Nick Perbix was sent to the box for a high stick on A.J. Greer. Reinhart would score on the ensuing power play.
Knight’s fortune in the first period ran dry late in the first when Nick Paul put one through the five-hole with five seconds left. Darren Raddysh kept a puck in the offensive zone and ran point-to-point to Victor Hedman. Hedman found Paul on Knight’s weak side and got the equalizer.
Second Period Struggles Reappear
Tampa Bay’s second-period curse reappeared when sloppy play led to disastrous results. Uvis Balinskis was sent off for interference, which became a blessing for the Panthers.
The Florida penalty kill unit perfected two neutral zone traps that led to goals—the first when A.J. Greer pickpocketed Nikita Kucherov and got the puck out to Tomas Nosek. Greer then scored on the rebound of Nosek’s shot.
The second shorthanded goal came seconds later, when the trap caught Anthony Cirelli. Eetu Luostarinen scored on the ensuing breakaway created by the turnover.
The two shorthanded goals on the same power play was a first in team history, and a statistic the Bolts would rather not have.
“I’ve coached 900-plus games in this league,” Head Coach Jon Cooper lamented, “Honestly, I don’t remember giving up two shorties on one power play.”
“So when you score two short-handed goals on one power play, which team do you think is going to get momentum? I guess we were on the wrong end of this one.”
Bolts Unable to Climb Out of Self-Inflicted Hole
The Bolts have done a better job in recent weeks limiting the amount of goals given up to their opponents. However, Florida’s tenacity and grit brought out the early-season Lighting, who seemed out-of-sorts at times. This led to a uphill climb as the Bolts tried to overcome a two-goal deficit.
Brayden Point scored early in third on a pass from Jake Guentzel. The first-line center forced Knight to commit early, and patiently moved the puck around the outstretched pad and into the goal.
Sheeeeesh, Pointer 😅 pic.twitter.com/STkBIu2eJ5
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) December 23, 2024
Despite holding the momentum for the majority of the third period, Tampa Bay could not convert that momentum into goals.
“We regrouped and came back in the third and scored one,” Cooper said. “We had some legit looks, and their goalie kicked them out.”
“To me, it was a really good hockey game. But when you lose special teams, that’s hard to bounce back from. The damage was done, period.”
Reinhart would add an empty net goal to put the game out of reach, ending the Lightning’s four-game win streak.
When asked about the quick turnaround trip to South Florida for tomorrow’s rematch being a hinderance, Cooper simply said: “(The) quicker we get to turn the page, probably the better for us.”
Three Stars of the Game
1. Eetu Luostarinen, Florida. Made a great play to steal the puck from Cirelli and score on the breakaway. That ended up being the game-winner.
2. Spencer Knight, Florida. Made the saves when he had to, including some tough ones that took the wind out of Tampa Bay’s sails.
3. Sam Reinhart, Florida. Scored the opening goal on a nice redirect and that got things going for Florida.
Up Next
The Lightning wrap up this home-and-home series in South Florida on Monday evening against the Panthers. Puck drop is at 7 pm.
