Panthers use short-handed goals to beat Lightning 4-2 in opener of home-and-home set

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A.J. Greer and Eetu Luostarinen scored short-handed goals 42 seconds apart in the second period to help the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Sunday to open a home-and-home series.

The teams will play again Monday night at Florida.

Sam Reinhart scored twice, the second into an empty net, and Spencer Knight stopped 19 shots for Stanley Cup champion Florida. The Panthers have won four consecutive games.

Nick Paul and Brayden Point scored for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves, The Lightning had won four in a row.

With Tampa Bay on a power play midway through the second, Nikita Kucherov fanned on an entry play, with Greer taking the puck and eventually scoring for a 2-1 lead. On the next shift, Luostarinen scored on a breakaway.

Panthers use short-handed goals to beat Lightning 4-2 in opener of home-and-home set | iNFOnews.ca — Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer (10) celebrates after his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning with defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Takeaways

Panthers: Florida leads the league with 10 short-handed goals, six more than any other team. The Panthers had two short-handed goals in a game for the eighth time in franchise history.

Lightning: Brayden Point has points in eight consecutive games and has 18 goals in his past 20 games.

Key moment

On the shift after Greer gave the Panthers the 2-1 lead in the second, Luostarinen stripped Anthony Cirelli of the puck and skated in on a breakaway and beat Vasilevskiy for another short-handed goal.