A combination of stingy defense in front of him and a slew of missed chances by the Lightning offense proved pivotal to Bobrovsky’s clean sheet.

Nate Schmidt's early goal held up as the winner and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky posted the shutout as the visiting Florida Panthers claimed a 2-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Nate Schmidt scored his third goal in two games, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.