The Tampa Bay Lightning ran off four straight goals en route to a 4-2 preseason win against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on Thursday.
After Owen Tippett scored his third of the preseason, from Frank Vatrano, 16:01 into the first period to give the Cats a 1-0 lead, the Lightning got second period goals from Cedric Paquette and Yanni Gourde and third period markers from superstars Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos to earn the victory.
Evgenii Dadonov completed the scoring with a power-play goal that came with 1:40 remaining in the game. Dadonov’s second of the preseason was set up by Mike Hoffman and Keith Yandle.
Sergei Bobrovsky went the distance and finished with 21 saves on 25 shots. Curtis McElhinney made 30 stops and got the win for the Bolts.
The two teams will conclude preseason play on Saturday night in Tampa.
Bubble Boys
In addition to his goal, Tippett finished with four shots on net and played 16:02. Tippett was one of three Cats to finish the tilt with a +1 rating.
Denis Malgin had one shot on goal, two takeaways and blocked two shots. He finished with a -1 rating in 18:40 TOI.
Jayce Hawryluk played 9:54 and registered one shot, two hits and a takeaway.
Riley Stillman continued his steady play, finishing the game with an even rating in 17:05 TOI. Stillman blocked two shots and had one hit.