Lightning shutout the Panthers in Game 4 to sweep series

The Tampa Bay Lightning went into Game 4 against the Florida Panthers with a 3-0 series lead.

Florida played its best period of the series in the first period and outshot Tampa 17-3. The Panthers put on a clinic, while the Lightning were persistent on defense, and did not force the issue offensively. The Lightning blocked 12 shots in the period alone. Andrei Vasilevskiy and company were able to weather the storm from their cross state rivals, finishing the period scoreless.

Tampa Bay forward Anthony Cirelli had one of only three shots on net for the Bolts, and he did so in controversial fashion. Cirelli made a power move to the middle around defenseman Aaron Ekblad and ran over netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. The play drew a crowd of angry hockey players and Cirelli was issued a two-minute minor penalty for goaltender interference.




The second period was more and more of Florida dominating offensively. Vasilevskiy had to make save after save after save. He received some help from the knob of his stick as well as all three posts.


Halfway through the period, Tampa forward Alex Killorn seemed to score on a tip shot from Mikhail Sergachev. Florida chose to challenge the play for missed stoppage of play after Jonathan Huberdeau was adamant the puck hit the safety netting behind the goal (similar to a disallowed goal for Florida earlier in the series). After an unprecedented 8:28 review, the officials deemed that the puck did indeed hit the safety netting. No goal on the play.


Less than two minutes after that play, Nikita Kucherov wired one past Bobrovsky on a faceoff play... or so we thought. After closer review, it appeared that Cirelli won the faceoff with his hand (which is technically a two-minute penalty). Florida head coach Andrew Brunette challenged once again for a missed stoppage. The officials came back with a verdict much more quickly than the first challenge. No goal due to a missed stoppage for a hand pass. Also, no penalty can be assessed following a goal challenge.


The teams went to the dressing room still tied at two. Florida outshot Tampa in the second period once again, 16-11.

The third period was more of the same: Florida shooting until their arms fell off, and Tampa defending patiently. Pat Maroon, who is chasing his fourth consecutive cup, scored in impressive fashion 7 minutes into the third period.


With just 2:30 left, Ondrej Palat took a puck over the glass delay of game penalty. Tampa continued to defend and block shots. Palat was able to put home the empty net tally soon after exiting the penalty box to seal the deal for the Bolts.

Andrei Vasilevskiy was super-human for Tampa tonight. He recorded a 49-save shutout: the most ever in a series clinching game. He also has the most series clinching shutouts in playoff history with 6. Vasilevskiy only allowed 3 goals all series against the highest scoring offense in the league. Tonight marked the only game the Panthers have been shutout this season. Vasilevskiy made 151 saves on 154 shots for an incredible .981 save percentage. Wow, just wow.

After sweeping the Cats (without Brayden Point, mind you), the Tampa Bay Lightning will get some much needed rest as the other East Series continues tomorrow evening between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers. The Bolts will play the winner of that series, presumably beginning early next week.