Vasilevskiy, Lightning beat Panthers 2-0 in Game 4 for sweep
Andrei Vasilevskiy had 49 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning completed a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers with a 2-0 victory that sends the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions back to the Eastern Conference final for the sixth time in eight years.
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Florida Panthers off to 2nd-best start in franchise history
Floridaโs 6-1-2 start through nine games is the second-best in franchise history, topped only by the 6-0-3 record to open the 1996-97 season. โWe've been consistent in most games," Florida coach Joel Quenneville said. Starting poorly, however, has pretty much snuffed out some Panthers seasons before they even started. The five Florida teams that went to the playoffs โ 1995-96, 1996-97, 1999-2000, 2011-12 and 2015-16 โ averaged 12 standings points through the seasonโs first nine games. Thereโs obviously a long way to go, but the Panthers finally have the start they wanted.