Lightning rally from 3-0 deficit, win in SO
The Tampa Bay Lightning earned a rare road win while handing the Florida Panthers another shootout loss.
Dominic Moore scored the winner to lift the Lightning to a 4-3 shootout win over the Panthers on Sunday night.
Ryan Malone, Steven Stamkos, and Teddy Purcell also scored for the Lightning, who won for just the third time in nine road games this season. Dwayne Roloson stopped all 29 shots he faced after coming in late in the first period in relief of Mathieu Garon.
Brian Campbell, Tomas Kopecky, and Mike Santorelli scored goals for the Panthers, who squandered a 3-0 lead and suffered their third straight shootout loss, all at home. Jose Theodore made 34 saves for Florida.
''Every away game we've played, we're just horrible in the first period,'' Lightning coach Guy Boucher said.
Each team failed on three shots in the shootout before Moore got the puck past Theodore. Roloson stopped Sean Bergenheim's shot to seal the win for Tampa Bay, who won for the sixth time in eight games.
''It's a great win to be able to come back from three goals,'' Moore said. ''It's a great sign of us sticking with it, being patient. We had our backs against the wall. Hopefully that's a lesson for us.''
The Lightning tied the score at 3 on Purcell's goal at 8:11 of the third. His shot went off a defensemen's skate and under Theodore and into the net.
''We threw it on a plate for them and said, 'Here you go,''' Florida's Ed Jovanovski said. ''Down 3-0, you'd think it's tough to come back but when you stop playing and start watching it comes back to bite you.''
Trailing 3-0, the Lightning closed within one on two goals late in the second period. Malone's power-play shot into a crowd in front of the Panthers net was initially covered by Theodore, but he lost the puck and it trickled in before he could glove it at 16:20. About a minute and a half later, Matt Gilroy brought the puck out from behind the net and passed it to Stamkos in close. His one-timer beat Theodore on the stick side.
''We were able to come back and get two points on the road. Hopefully, this snowballs to where we get some confidence on the road,'' Stamkos said.
The Panthers scored three goals in the first period, chasing Garon from the game. They took a 1-0 lead on Campbell's power-play goal less than two minutes in. Kris Versteeg passed the puck to Campbell in the slot and his wrist shot went over Garon's shoulder.
The Panthers went up 2-0 on Kopecky's goal. Jack Skille brought the puck down the ice from the Panthers zone and passed to Kopecky in the right circle. His shot beat Garon at 13:05.
Santorelli gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead on a soft wrister from the top of the left circle at 15:21. Garon was then replaced by Roloson, and finished with nine saves on 12 shots.
''Preventable plays at key moments. For 35 minutes we played a really solid game, fell off at the last five of the second, picked it back up in the third, and then it just turned into the Wild West there at the end,'' Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. ''A little bit of the same old story for us. When you're up 3-0 you like to close that door. Instead, we found a way to lose it.''
NOTES: Eight of the Panthers 11 power play goals this season have come against the Lightning. ... Florida LW Tomas Fleischmann has a seven-game points streak. ... Tampa Bay has placed D Mattias Ohlund on injured reserve with a right knee injury.
