It took 65+ minutes, but the Florida Panthers took a hard fought, 5-4 shootout victory against the reigning Eastern Conference Champions in Tampa Bay on Saturday night.
First Period
Jussi Jokinen (4) opened the scoring at the 4:48 mark, banging home a Vincent Trocheck wraparound to beat Bolts goaltender Ben Bishop for an early 1-0 lead. Brian Campbell earned his seventh assist of the season on the play.
Midway through the period, Cedric Paquette tripped Shawn Thornton for Florida's first power play opportunity - but it was short-lived.