TAMPA, Fla. — Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett each had two goals and two assists as the Florida Panthers won their franchise-record 11th consecutive road game by routing the rival Tampa Bay Lightning 9-2 on Saturday night.
Florida is now one win from matching league history, and coupled with the Boston Bruins‘ loss earlier in the day, the Panthers now hold a one-point lead in the Atlantic Division. Boston is the division’s defending champion and has been the first-place tenant for most of this season.
“Over 82 (games), you’ll get one of those where it all goes in for you,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We’ve had a lot of nights, especially earlier this year, where the puck didn’t go in for us. So, it’s good for the guys to have one of those nights.”
Florida, the defending Eastern Conference champion, matched its franchise high in goals for a road game. Florida’s scoring record is 10 goals, in a 10-5 home win over Boston on Nov. 26, 1997.
“They’re pretty rare in this league when you score so many goals,” Florida center Aleksander Barkov said. “Everyone is having fun out there and playing the right way and playing hard no matter what the score was.”
The 11-game, regular-season run is one shy of the NHL record held by the 2005-06 Detroit Red Wings and 2014-15 Minnesota Wild. The Colorado Avalanche won 15 straight, a surge that ended last season, but it included playoff games.
During its historical stretch, Florida has outscored its opponents 51-18. After a home game Tuesday vs. the Ottawa Senators, Florida will have a chance to tie that mark against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.
“I think this is a one-off,” Maurice said, when asked if the seven-goal victory against a rival sent a message to their in-state foes. “I really do. Some people are walking away with a few extra points in their pocket, but I don’t think that’s what these guys care about. It’s not what drives them. It’s a good road win for us.”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves and set a team record with his eighth straight road victory. Carter Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist and Brandon Montour had a goal and two assists. Kevin Stenlund and Gustav Forsling also scored for Florida.
“Probably our biggest rivalry in the league is Tampa,” said Bennett, who ended a six-game pointless streak. “So anytime we can come into their building and put a game on like that, it definitely feels good.”
Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point scored for the Lightning, who had an eight-game home winning streak halted. Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed six goals on 22 shots before replaced by Jonas Johansson (six saves) to start the third.
“I’ve been on both sides of these types of night, and it’s tough when you’re on this side,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “But the response, we’ll see where we are.”
Tampa Bay, which now trails the Panthers by 11 points, saw NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov extend his point streak to 10 games with an assist on a power-play goal in the third period. But he finished a minus-4 in the loss.
The Panthers went up 6-1 on a pair of power-play goals by Tkachuk during the opening 1:37 of the second period. He established a mark for the fastest two goals to start a period by player in Panthers’ history.
Tkachuk has 12 goals and 25 points in the Panthers’ 11 consecutive road wins.
After Hagel opened the scoring 24 seconds into the game, the Panthers responded with four straight first-period goals by Montour, Bennett, Stenlund and Forsling.
“Twenty-four seconds it was a (heck) of a game for the home fans,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “For 59 minutes and 36 seconds, one team was better than the other.”
Verhaeghe had two of Florida’s third-period goals.
“We love playing together,” Verhaeghe said when asked about the dominance away from home. “We love going on the road, and bonding with the guys. And I think road games are more simple for us. We know we’re going to get the other team’s best.”
Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad missed the game with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
