The Tampa Bay Lightning looked sharp in an exhibition showdown against the Florida Panthers in Toronto.
With both teams tuning up for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoff tournament, the Lightning came out strong against the Panthers. Brayden Point got the scoring started at the 13:42 mark of the first period to give the Bolts an early lead. The Lightning began to make a statement as Point scored again with five seconds to go in the first period and send the Lightning into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.
In the second period the Lightning began to pull away. Just a minute and fifty-three seconds into the frame, Nikita Kucherov scored on the power play to build a 3-0 lead. Luke Schenn added a goal at the 5:13 mark of the second period to build a 4-0 lead. Nikita Kucherov scored his second of the game in the third period that gave the Lightning a 5-0 win.
In addition to the big game from Brayden Point, who had a four point night, the Lightning also got a big game from Andrei Vasilevskiy. The goaltender finished with twenty-six saves in picking up the shutout win, including three saves on breakaways.
The Lightning now look ahead to the round robin portion of the Stanley Cup Tournament, which begins on Monday when they battle the Washington Capitals. Puck drop from Toronto is scheduled for 4:00 PM - pregame coverage begins at 3:30 on News Radio WFLA.