Special teams to blame as Panthers snap Lightning’s 4-game win streak

The Lightning know their cross-state rival well, so it’s no secret to them that the Panthers apply relentless pressure on the puck, particularly when an opponent tries to enter the offensive zone.

Make a mistake, and you’ll be digging the puck out of your own net, as Tampa Bay found out the hard way Sunday at Amalie Arena.

The first regular season meeting between the teams was mostly evenly matched, especially during 5-on-5 play. But the night unraveled quickly for the Lightning after they allowed two shorthanded goals on the same power play midway through the second period.

The result was a 4-2 loss that snapped their season-high four-game winning streak.

“I’ve coached in 900-plus games in this league, and I don’t remember us ever allowing two shorties on one power play,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.

It was the fourth time in franchise history the Lightning allowed two shorthanded goals on the same power play, and the first since they permitted two to the Penguins on Oct. 27, 2010.

“It’s a game of mistakes pretty much every night and who makes the least and who capitalizes on their chances when they get looks,” said Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh.

Two quick shorties ‘deflating’

The teams get up for their meetings, and Sunday was no different — high tempo from the opening puck drop with both finishing their checks.

Sam Reinhart’s power-play goal with 4:09 remaining in the first gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead, but Nick Paul tied the score with 14.7 seconds left in the period.

After Paul nearly gave his team a lead with a nifty move toward the middle of the ice that was turned away by Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight, the Lightning didn’t have a shot on goal for a stretch of 16 minutes, 14 seconds that went into the opening minutes of the third period.

With the score tied at 1 midway through the second, Nikita Kucherov gave the puck away at the Panthers blue line, leading to a 2-on-1 the other way. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped Tomas Nosek’s initial shot, but AJ Greer gathered the rebound and flung it back off Vasilevskiy’s pad and inside the post.

Forty-two seconds later, Eetu Luostarinen pickpocketed Anthony Cirelli in the neutral zone, creating a breakaway that ended with him beating Vasilevskiy over the blocker to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead.

“It’s a little deflating,” Lightning center Brayden Point said. “We had a lot of hockey left. I think we didn’t finish out the second the way we wanted to. I think those two goals got to us a little bit, but in the third I thought we came out and kind of got back to our game and played them pretty solid.”

Though the Lightning power play improved greatly over the first 30 games and ranked fifth entering the game, it managed just one shot on goal over six minutes of man-advantage time. It has allowed five shorthanded goals this season, tied with Calgary for most in the league.

A fine 5-on-5 effort

The Panthers started Sunday ranked fifth in 5-on-5 goals with 77 (the Lightning were fourth with 80), but Tampa Bay did a good job of limiting Florida’s chances.

The Lightning outscored the Panthers 2-0 at 5-on-5, holding them to 11 scoring chances and just three high-danger chances at even strength.

“To me, it was a really good hockey game,” Cooper said. “If you had told me that we were going to limit Florida to zero 5-on-5 goals and minimal chances all night, I would really like our chances. But we lose special teams 3-0, so that’s a hard one to bounce back from.”

After Point cut the Lightning’s deficit to a goal 3:26 into the third, the Panthers pushed back. It took an amazing save from Vasilevskiy, extending his right pad to cut off the post on Mackie Samoskevich’s backhand shot at 4:03, to keep it there.

Uphill climb to rebound

It’s both good and bad that the Lightning will play the Panthers again Monday in Sunrise, the final game before the NHL’s three-day holiday break.

It’s unfortunate the Lightning came out of the first half of the back-to-back without any points, since they had Vasilevskiy in net and the Panthers played their backup goaltender.

Now, they’ll face starter Sergei Bobrovsky, who shut down the Lightning in last postseason’s first round and won seven of his last eight starts, posting a .917 save percentage during that stretch.

Tampa Bay will have to lean on backup Jonas Johansson to salvage any points from the first of six back-to-back sets over a five-week stretch. Johansson allowed 17 goals over his first three starts but is coming off back-to-back wins with a a .943 save percentage.

“It’s unique,” McDonagh said. “You don’t play the same team two times in a row unless its the playoffs. So it’s a good situation for us to respond and go on the road and win a gutsy one, kind of like they did (Sunday). It’s good for us to have this adversity here before the break.”