TAMPA, Fla. _ The Lightning defeated the Panthers with a 2-1 victory via shootout in their season opener Saturday at Amalie Arena.
J.T. Miller and Nikita Kucherov scored in the shootout. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 42 saves and stopped both shots he faced in the shootout period.
If not for a slow start from the Lightning, the game might not have reached overtime. Vasilevskiy made two difficult saves early in the game, but Florida defenseman Jacob MacDonald scored shortly after to give Florida an early 1-0 lead. The Panthers would not score a goal the rest of the game.
Although Tampa Bay gave up a goal early, it was the offense that struggled mightily in the first period. The Lightning mustered four shots in the opening period, often struggling to set up anything. Tampa Bay also had issues with maintaining possession in the offensive zone.
Whether it was Kucherov missing a chance to fire home a shot from the slot or Alex Killorn whiffing from the circle as Anthony Cirelli tried to set him up for a shot, little went well for the Lightning in the offensive zone.
Faceoffs didn't go well, either. The Panthers won 75 percent of them in the first.
Then came the second period.
The Lightning didn't score, but it was not because of a lack of chances. Tampa Bay settled down offensively and provided significantly more pressure on the Florida net, firing 14 shots on goal. After the Panthers outshot the Lightning 16-4 in the first, Florida put six shots on goal in the second. Faceoff percentages also evened out.
Midway through the second, Panthers starting goaltender Roberto Luongo had to be helped off the ice after a teammate fell into his leg. James Reimer replaced him for the rest of the game in the Florida net.
Mathieu Joseph was a part of the resurgent offense in the second as he made his NHL debut. Joseph first elicited cheers from the crowd when he smashed a Florida player against the board. Not long after that, he stole the puck during a penalty kill and drew a penalty himself when he began to skate through the neutral zone.
Joseph also fired off two good shots while on the power play late in the second. Neither of these shots went in, though. But he wasn't alone in failing to score on the power play _ the Lightning finished 0-for-3 on the power play.
The Panthers did not do much better. Florida went on the power play five times, three times in the third and failed to convert on any of them.
The Panthers didn't score on the fifth power play. Instead, the Lightning did.
Anthony Cirelli scored the first goal of the season for the Lightning when he scored shorthanded with 9:15 left in the third period to tie the game at 1-1.
