Tuesday, 4 a.m.
After a game defined by the clock, it appears the Tampa Bay Lightning are running out of time.
The Bolts saw a third-period lead evaporate in an 11-second span that pushed them to the
brink of elimination in the NHL playoffs Monday night. The Bolts led 2-1 late in the third period but couldn’t close it out. They lost 4-2 and now trail three games to one in their best-of-seven series.
You want to talk about time? The Panthers scored the tying and go-ahead goals in an 11-second span (they later added an empty-netter).
You want to talk about time? The Bolts were back in the series until the final 3:37 of the game.
You want to talk about time? The Bolts had a 2-1 lead and a five-minute power play in the third period. They got off only one shot in the five minutes.
"We had chances to get (the puck) out, and we didn't," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper "That was it. I don't know what else to say. For 115 minutes, we passed every test possible. We played well enough to win both games (in Sunrise)
The Bolts had a successful season, largely because of their poise in playing with a lead in the third period. The Panthers, however, have won six of the last eight playoff games against the Bolts.
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the second period on a goal by Anton Lundell. The Bolts came back with two goals in their own 11-second span in the second period. Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak scored for the Bolts.
The Bolts’ biggest scorers — Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel, Jake Guentzel and Anthony Cirelli — combined for just four shots.
Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy saved 19 of 22 shots.
The Panthers had a goal disallowed in the third period, then got quick goals by Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones. Carter Verhaeghe added the empty netter.
The teams play again Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Amalie Arena. If Tampa Bay does not win that (and the following two games), their season is over.