Knight, Lundell help Panthers defeat Lightning

TAMPA-- Spencer Knight made 30 saves, and Anton Lundell scored his first NHL goal for the Florida Panthers in a 4-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Tuesday.

Aleksander Barkov and Brandon Montour scored for Florida, which has won its first three games for a second straight season. Knight made his season debut and has not lost in his five NHL regular-season games.
"I thought the two kids were special tonight," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville. "[Knight] and 'Lundy' were ... that was bright for the future of the organization. Their composure and performance was excellent."
Brayden Point scored for the Lightning (2-2-0), who have yet to hold a lead during regulation or score in the first period. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves.
"It's not a trend we want to continue," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "But it's four games in. Let's just get better in some areas. I feel like the 5-on-5 play has gotten better each and every game so far. Obviously we want to play a little more with the lead and generate a little more offense 5-on-5."

The Lightning were 0-for-6 on the power play, including a 5-on-3 for 1:34 late in the first period.
"Huge kill," Quenneville said. "You give that team a 5-on-3, hopefully you kill it most of the time because they're going to find an empty space. Obviously with [Nikita] Kucherov ... it would've definitely almost been impossible to get through it. So we got a break there."
The Lightning struggled on the power play without Kucherov, a forward who is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
"Obviously we're missing 'Kuch,' one of the best half-wall guys in the game," Point said. "Our power play runs through him. It's going to be a work in progress. There's going to be things we have to iron out, but tonight wasn't good."
Barkov gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead at 3:40 of the third period when he scored off a loose puck off the stick of Carter Verhaeghe.
"Any goal is huge, obviously we scored some goals," Barkov said. "But they tied the game up, and when we scored right away it was like we never lost the lead."

Lundell extended the lead to 3-1 at 13:19 with a one-timer off a pass from Sam Reinhart.
"First game with Sam, he's a really good player," Lundell said. "He has a great shot and good passes. I really enjoyed playing with him today. Huge win for us and a great game from our line."
Barkov gave credit to the 20-year-old for playing hard at both ends of the ice and blocking shots on the penalty kill.
"Obviously he scored his first goal and first point today, but he's been outstanding so far and I can't see him slowing down," Barkov said. "He's a really good kid. He's working really hard, staying late after the games and he's first to the rink. That's good to see from him."
Anthony Duclair scored an empty-net goal for a 4-1 lead at 17:54, his third game with a goal.
Montour gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 6:12 of the second period when he took control of a face-off and scored with a wrist shot to the near post. Lundell, the No. 12 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, had an assist for his first NHL point.
Point tied it 1-1 at 2:36 of the third period with a slap shot through traffic that brushed off Panthers defenseman Mackenzie Weegar.
"Tough one. ... We come back and tie it and we're feeling pretty good," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Then to give one up like we did so quick, that was a bit of a backbreaker for us."
NOTES: Knight is the 11th NHL goalie to win each of his first five regular-season games. ... Stamkos did not have a point; he had three games with multiple points to start the season.