Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Box Score on Dec 10, 2022

Tampa Bay's Brayden Point beat Florida for the second time in two months, netting a tiebreaking third-period goal as the host Lightning defeated the rival Panthers 4-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Point, who scored in overtime to beat Florida 3-2 in Sunrise, Fla., on Oct. 21, netted from in close in the third, giving him 18 goals and 11 assists in 27 career games against the Atlantic Division foe.

Pat Maroon, Mikhail Sergachev and Steven Stamkos potted goals -- extending Stamkos' point streak to 13 games. Cal Foote produced two helpers and Nicholas Paul assisted for his 100th career point.

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves as the Lightning improved to 10-3-0 in their past 13 contests.

The Panthers got a goal from Zac Dalpe, his second in three games since being called up from the AHL Charlotte Checkers on Monday. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 34 shots and defenseman Brandon Montour played in his 400th career NHL game.

In falling to 4-5-3 in its past 12 games, Florida went 0-for-4 on the power play.

In the second matchup's first two minutes, the Panthers peppered shots near Vasilevskiy, but the third line featuring Maroon and Anthony Cirelli played give-and-go in the corner and took advantage at 8:40. Maroon eventually took a pass from the center and found the net from in close for the first time this season.

On Tampa Bay's four-on-three man advantage late in the period, Bobrovsky was strong against the league's third-ranked power play (entering Saturday). Meanwhile, Vasilevskiy kept his club out front by denying Aaron Ekblad on a breakaway in the frame's closing seconds.

Following an offensive zone draw, Florida caught a break when Dalpe's bad-angle shot from the bottom of the right circle went through Vasilevskiy's crease and struck Sergachev -- camped on the far post -- and went in.

Unlike the first period when Tampa Bay outshot Florida 19-9, the Panthers controlled most of the territorial play in the second with a strong forecheck and had four power-play opportunities, but the match remained tied after 40 minutes.

Early in the third, Point notched his 14th goal after taking a feed from Nikita Kucherov, skating through the slot and beating Bobrovsky at 3:03 -- his fourth goal in three games.

During a scramble with Bobrovsky down and unable to get up, Sergachev fired in his fifth goal into an open net as the Lightning scored twice in 4:19. Florida challenged unsuccessfully for goaltender interference on the tally.

--Field Level Media