Eetu Luostarinen Shines as Florida Panthers Close Out Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5
Eetu Luostarinen closed out the Florida Panthers’ five-game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a four-point night after a dominant showing on the penalty kill all series.
TAMPA — After putting together a quietly dominant series, Eetu Luostarinen put his stamp on it with a four-point outing to help the Florida Panthers seal the deal with a 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Luostarinen’s impact on the penalty kill and the defensive zone was understated all series, but he emphatically put his stamp on it with 6:58 to go. He tapped home a feed from Brad Marchand to give the Panthers the two-goal cushion they needed to get out of Tampa with the win.
“He was everywhere today,” Gustav Forsling said. “He really works hard out there. I’m happy for him to have four points but he’s always good for us.”
Luostarinen had his fingerprints on Game 5 the same way he has done all series — by making big plays in his own zone and breaking the puck out in the other direction. This time, it happened to lead to offense.
He also helped the Panthers hold the Lightning’s star-studded power play to just two goals on 18 attempts in the series.
“We just tried to keep it simple,” Luostarinen said. “Tonight, it went our way. Obviously, it feels good to contribute offensively, but it’s a team win, a good series, and we move on.”
Luostarinen stripped Lightning star Nikita Kucherov of the puck and started the counter attack with Brad Marchand on the other end to give Florida its first lead of the game with 9:54 to go in the first period.
He dug the puck out from a battle behind the net and dished it off to Gustav Forsling early in the second period. Aleksander Barkov tipped home Forsling’s slap shot to give Florida the lead back 52 seconds into the frame after Tampa Bay tied it late in the first period.
On Sam Bennett’s game-winning goal, Luostarinen stripped Lightning star Nikita Kucherov of the puck and broke it out of the zone with seconds left on a penalty kill. Anton Lundell found Bennett streaking out of the box and he buried a shot off the rush with 4:47 to go in the second period.
Luostarinen made his Game 5 heroics the same way he always has — making big plays in his own end and killing off penalties.
“He’s been great ever since he came to the Panthers and he’s just a great guy to have around,” Barkov said. “You see how much all of the little skills he has that maybe doesn’t show up on the scoresheet. He kills penalties with his high hockey IQ, he’s really good on the forecheck, he has a really good stick, and today, he was rewarded with four points.”