A Gentleman’s Sweep: Panthers End Lightning in 5, Move On

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers have finally shed themselves of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

And they did it in style on Monday night.

Florida scored four times in the third period and steamrolled the Lightning 6-1 to close out the first-round series in Game 5.

Sasha Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each scored twice for the Panthers.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves in the win.

Florida now waits on the winner of the Boston/Toronto series.

The Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the second off goals from Verhaeghe and Barkov.

Up 2-1 in the third, Barkov got his second of the night at 11:06 and the celebration was starting to warm.

By the time Evan Rodrigues made it 4-1, at 14:16, it was a full-on party.

The Lightning actually put three pucks past Bobrovsky — but only one counted.

Tampa Bay had its initial goal taken off the board when Paul Maurice challenged goalie interference on a goal from Anthony Cirelli at 13:00 of the first.

Anthony Duclair interfered with Bobrovsky in the crease and the goal was taken off.

The Lightning appeared to tie the score at 2 with 2:12 left in the second, only Mikhail Sergachev’s goal was immediately waved off.

Jon Cooper challenged and lost; Cirelli was in the crease, jostling with Niko Mikkola.

Florida took a 2-1 lead into the third period.

GOALS OF THE GAME

• Panthers 1, Lightning 0 (0:45, 2nd 4/4): Carter Verhaeghe follows up his own rebound and fires it past Andrei Vasilevskiy to break the ice.
• Panthers 2, Lightning 0 (12:38, 2nd SH): Sasha Barkov hops on a rebound off a point shot from Aaron Ekblad to give the Panthers a 2-goal lead.
• Panthers 2, Lightning 1 (13:37, 2nd): Following a Lightning power play, Victor Hedman one-times a shot from the slot to get Tampa Bay on the board.
• Panthers 3, Lightning 1 (11:06, 3rd): Barkov knocked in a bouncing puck which started on a shot from Verhaeghe that hit the stick of Matthew Tkachuk in front. The puck ended up on Barkov’s stick — only it did not last long.
• Panthers 4, Lightning 1 (14:16, 3rd): Evan Rodrigues bombs one from from the left circle.
• Panthers 5, Lightning 1 (16:03, 3rd EN): Verhaeghe gets his second of the night.
• Panthers 6, Lightning 1 (18:50, 3rd EN): Hello, Niko Mikkola.

FHN’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

1. Sasha Barkov, Florida

2. Carter Verhaeghe, Florida

3. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

FLORIDA PANTHERS (ATL1) V. BOSTON (A2)/TORONTO (A3)

BEST-OF-7 SERIES

GAME 1

• When: TBA
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise 
• National TV/Streaming: Warner Sports (TNT/TBS) or Disney (ESPN/ABC)
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL app
• First Round (Panthers Won 4-1) — Game 1: Panthers 3, Tampa Bay 2; Game 2: Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2 OT; Game 3: Panthers 5, Tampa Bay 3; Game 4: Tampa Bay 6, Panthers 3; Game 5: Panthers 6, Tampa Bay 1.
• + VS. BOSTON
• Last Season — Regular Season: Tied 2-2; Playoffs: Florida won 4-3 (first-round)
• This season (Bruins 4-0) — At Boston: Bruins 3, Panthers 2 OT (Oct.30); Bruins 3, Panthers 2 OT (Ap. 6). At Florida: Bruins 3, Panthers 1 (Nov. 22); Bruins 4, Panthers 3 (March 26).
• All-time Regular Season Series: Boston leads 64-37-7, 6 ties
• All-time Postseason Series: Florida leads 2-0 (1996, 2023)
• + VS. TORONTO
• This Season (Tied 2-2) — At Florida: Panthers 3, Leafs 1 (Oct. 19); Panthers 5, Leafs 2 (Ap. 16). At Toronto: Leafs 2, Panthers 1 (Nov. 28); Leafs 6, Panthers 4 (April 1).
• Last Season — Regular Season: Toronto won 3-1; Playoffs: Florida won 4-1 (EC semifinals)
  
• All-time Regular Season Series: Toronto leads 50-38-7, 7 ties