Tampa Bay scored early from laiyongcai92's blog

TAMPA Jonathan Ericsson Jersey , Fla. (AP) — and often in another home victory over Florida.Steven Stamkos had a goal and three assists and the Lightning reclaimed the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 7-3 victory over the Panthers on Wednesday night.“Guys were battling all night,” Stamkos said. “That’s just what you want to see. Compete, and then when you compete the skill takes over.”Nikita Kucherov and Ryan McDonagh each had a goal and two assists. Mathieu Joseph, Yanni Gourde, Adam Erne and Dan Giradi also scored, J.T. Miller had three assists, and Louis Domingue made 40 saves.“It’s tough to lose when you score seven,” said Domingue, who was won three of four filling in for injured starter Andrei Vasilevskiy. “I just thought we played a great game from start to finish.”Vasilevskiy has a fractured left foot and will miss three to five more weeks.The Lightning are 11-1-1 at home against Florida since the start of the 2013-14 season.Panthers left wing Mike Hoffman extended his points streak to 17 games (10 goals, 20 points) with a late third-period power-play goal. He is the fifth player in NHL history to have a points streak of at least 17 games in his first season with a franchise.Troy Brouwer and Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers. They are 2-3 on a six-game trip. Roberto Luongo was pulled early in the third after allowing six goals on 28 shots.“We kind of let Luon out to dry there Womens Justin Abdelkader Jersey ,” Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “Ultimately they were coming in waves at us all game and we didn’t have a response.”Tampa Bay went ahead 4-1 early in the second when Gourde scored on an in-close give-and-go with Stamkos at 2:37 before Erne put home a backhander 2:08 later.Barkov made it 4-2 on the power play with 1:35 remaining in the second.Stamkos, McDonagh and Girardi had third-period goals. It was Girardi’s first goal in 23 games.“Just too many unforced errors,” Hoffman said. “You can’t be giving up that many goals if you expect to win any game.”Joseph stole the puck from Alexander Petrovic and scored on a backhander 59 seconds into the game.“We just feed off that,” Stamkos said.After Brouwer scored at 2:19 of the first, Kucherov’s power-play goal put the Lightning up 2-1 with 10:38 left in the period.Kucherov has two goals and nine points during a four-game point streak.NOTES: Panthers C Vincent Trocheck had surgery for a fractured right ankle and may play again this season. Trocheck was hurt in Monday night’s game at Ottawa. “He’s bummed out,” Florida coach Bob Boughner said. “The surgery went well. He’ll be back. It’s just a matter of when.” … Former Lightning star Martin St. Louis was honored before game following his induction last week into the Hockey Hall of Fame. “It’s the ultimate honor,” St. Louis said. “I can’t believe I’m part of that group.”UP NEXTPanthers: At Carolina on Friday night.Lightning: Host Chicago Friday night. One team has been scoring goals as though they were playing in the run-and-gun 1980s. The other team’s goalie has been stopping pucks at a remarkable percentage.In a classic example of overwhelming offense versus terrific defense, the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.Chicago (2-0-1) has pumped in 15 goals in its first three games, thanks in part to an early revival from its long-time franchise players. Jonathan Toews has five markers, third in the league behind Toronto’s 1-2 punch of Auston Matthews and John Tavares. Patrick Kane has bagged four goals.Article continues below ...As for Minnesota (0-1-1) Luke Glendening Jersey , it’s managed just two goals in two games, but Devan Dubnyk has done his best impression of a pitcher keeping his team alive without much run support. After a 36-save performance in a season-opening 4-1 loss at Colorado Oct. 4 — the last two goals were empty-netters — Dubnyk stopped 41 of 42 shots in a 2-1 shootout defeat Saturday night against Vegas.The 6-foot-6 Dubnyk owns a ridiculous .963 save percentage, yet doesn’t have a win to his credit. Is the four-day break between games something that worries him?“Those are things that I’ve come to learn that are very much out of my control,” he said. “There’s going to be some times in the season when we’re playing so many games and we’ll want some time off, so you just take the time when you can and use the days to practice.”While Dubnyk tries to maintain his form, the Wild want to find their goal-scoring touch. More puck possession would help, as would more shots. They’ve been outshot 82-51 in the first two games, and it’s hard to win in the NHL with such a discrepancy.How hard has it been for Minnesota to create good looks? In its first two games, it has created only two 5-on-5 chances in the first two periods of each match.“We haven’t been up to par yet, or even close Martin Frk Jersey , I think,” said Wild center Charlie Coyle.The Blackhawks’ arrival could spur a revival for the Minnesota offense. Only Vancouver has allowed as many goals (14) as Chicago, which has struggled for consistency between the pipes in the continued absence of two-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie Corey Crawford.Out since last December with a concussion, Crawford is still another week away from a return, which coach Joel Quenneville thinks will happen Oct. 18 against Arizona. In the meantime, Cam Ward has started the first three games and has ceded 14 goals on 89 shots, including seven in a 7-6 overtime loss Sunday night against Toronto.Chicago has minimized the damage of Ward’s .843 save percentage with the hot start of its mainstays. Toews’ hat trick keyed a 5-4 overtime win Saturday night in St. Louis, while Kane produced a pair of goals to wipe out the Maple Leafs‘ third period lead and earn a “loser” point for the Blackhawks.“I thought a lot of different guys chipped in and did some good things tonight,” Kane said of the Toronto game.