SUNRISE, Fla. — Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Andrei Vasilevskiy remained red-hot with 34 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning topped the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Nikita Kucherov and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist and Ross Colton also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
The Lightning took Game 1 against their in-state rivals for the second consecutive season.
Anthony Duclair had the goal for Florida.