Lightning strike first against Panthers, win 4-1
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/ZIRDWE46VIPU52CCTULF3EPGRY.jpg)
Published: May. 17, 2022 at 10:18 PM EDT
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Andrei Vasilevskiy remained red-hot with 34 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning topped the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Nikita Kucherov and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist and Ross Colton also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
The Lightning took Game 1 against their in-state rivals for the second consecutive season.
Anthony Duclair had the goal for Florida.
Scripps Only Content 2022
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/JU4WT4HVTVC77K5C2YXEO3VWKU.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/PQIE5XC6CJGYBDNEBNZXV34I4M.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/WGJEWUQVTPDOMFDRDVBQQ7QLQA.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/XEE6NGL2QDDPJQUY5GAC73JW3A.com)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/3VHFHWTAZVV73LXJYTWGZQHXGY.com)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/KHQPX4WIXM5U7QSXOYPTI7CRBU.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/3Y7ANPZKEQIBKE727WK3N4DTCE.com)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/JTA6EUXMXDV3UF5O6KKKNU6SRU.com)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/K3FCACCMGYJZCACKUKKX7OJ3SM.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/NTDPIOWEHVGPDSNII5LVDDFUKI.com)