Tampa Bay sweep Panthers, advance to third round of playoffs

The Tampa Bay Lightning have managed a 2-0 shutout of the Florida Panthers, sweeping the first four games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Tampa Bay gunning for number three

Tampa Bay is now only a round shy of participating in their third consecutive championship final. This comes after some hiccups the team experienced last month, like being annihilated by the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-0 in their first playoff game, and losing their star player Brayden Point to an injury before coming up against the top-seeded Panthers.

Andrei Vasilevskiy shone for the Lighting, finishing the game with an astounding 49 saves. The 27-year-old has only allowed three goals in total in the second round series against the Panthers.

Heartbroken Panthers

It was a heart-breaking loss for No. 1 seed-overall Florida, who held a convincing lead in shots for most of the evening.

But left wing Pat Maroon finally put the Lightning on the board with a goal in the third quarter. Ondrej Palat sealed the deal with an empty net goal in the last few seconds of the game.

The back-to-back champions are hoping to accomplish a three-peat this season.

Tampa Bay will face whoever wins the series between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers. The Hurricanes are currently leading with a 2-1 record. Their next matchup is scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, at 7.p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT