The Florida “Panthers” team represented by Latvian defenseman Uvja Balinskas won the National Hockey League (NHL) regular championship match on Sunday, defeating forward Zemgus Girgenson’s Tampa Bay “Lightning” team.
Last season’s champion “Panthers” got the decisive advantage in the middle of the second period, when Balinskis went to the bench of the rejected players – Anthony John Greer and Etu Luostarinen made it 3-1 in 42 seconds.
In the fourth minute of the final period, Brayden Point recovered one goal for the home team, however, “Lightning” was unable to equalize and in the last minute, Reinhart scored the final result of the match with a shot into an empty net.
Balinski played 13 minutes and four seconds with one shot on goal, one turnover, one pass breakup, one power play, two penalty minutes and a neutral efficiency rating.
On the other hand, Girgensons, who suffered a minor injury in the 57th minute of the match, was on the field for 12 minutes and 12 seconds, of which he played in the minority for one minute and 48 seconds. The Latvian striker had two power plays, two lost pucks, a blocked shot, three lost shots and a neutral efficiency ratio.
With 46 points in 35 games, “Panthers” are in third place in the Eastern Conference, while “Lightning” is in seventh position with 38 points in 31 matches.
Tonight, the two teams will meet again, with the game taking place at the “Panthers” field.