Game 6: Panthers still on the verge v. Lightning but have momentum

The Tampa Bay Lightning still hold the hammer entering Game 6 against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night — but at least the Panthers have some momentum on their side.

Florida staved off elimination on Monday night by taking Game 5 with a 4-1 thanks in part to some elite netminding by 20-year-old rookie goalie Spencer Knight.

The Panthers are going to need a similar, perhaps even better, performance on Wednesday.

The Lightning can end the Panthers season with a win at Amalie Arena.

The Panthers continue to take things as they come.

A win would force a winner-take-all Game 7 on Friday night in Sunrise.

“One game at a time here,’’ MacKenzie Weegar said. “We’re going into a tough building, they play well at home. We’ve got to keep the momentum on our side and play our best game.”

The Lightning felt Florida’s intensity in Game 5 and know it has to match it in Tampa.

“We’ve got to be much hungrier,’’ Victor Hedman said Tuesday. “We are playing a great team that was on the brink of elimination and they played like it. We didn’t match that.’’