SUNRISE, Fla. — The Lightning have struggled to manufacture offense in 5-on-5 play this season, and it’s one of the reasons they stumbled out of the gate.
The team entered the third period Friday night with just one 5-on-5 goal in the past three games. Tampa Bay pushed against the Panthers at FLA Live Arena, but couldn’t find the net.
Then Nikita Kucherov flung a puck from inside the blue line that Brayden Point redirected into the net with his stick blade, giving the Lightning a much-needed even-strength goal to tie the score at 2 with 10:31 left in the third.
