There were five games in the National Hockey League (NHL) on Monday night, with four of the road teams coming out on top. <\/p>\n
The defending Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers<\/a> did their damage in the opening two periods during their 5-2 defeat<\/a> of the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a>.<\/p>\n It took them two minutes and 16 seconds to get on the board through Sam Reinhart<\/a>, before Anton Lundell<\/a> doubled the advantage for the guests.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite mustering 23 shots to Florida’s 10, the Bolts could not get anything going. They were made to be punished once more in the second period, when Brad Marchand<\/a> got in on the scoring via a power play. Reinhart added a fourth towards the end of the frame, putting Florida in a commanding spot.<\/p>\n Max Crozier<\/a> got Tampa on the board with 33 seconds left before intermission. That proved to be one of two consolation goals for the home team, as J.J Moser<\/a> added a second shortly into the third. Carter Verhaeghe<\/a> made it 5-2 for the Panthers with his 10th goal of the year to wrap up the scoring.<\/p>\n Florida move up to 11th in the Eastern Conference with their fifth win in their last six games. As for the Lightning, it is back-to-back defeats, though they stay fourth in an incredibly tight conference.<\/p>\n It was back to winning ways for the Nashvile Predators, who topped the St. Louis<\/a> Blues 5-2<\/a>. It took the visiting team just 27 seconds before Filip Forsberg opened the scoring. Dalibor Dvorsky<\/a> tied things up in the middle for the period, which is how things stood going into the first break.<\/p>\n The second period was where the Predators did their damage. Once again, they found the back of the net early on in the frame, as Michael Bunting<\/a> gave them the lead back. Forsberg gave them their first two-goal lead of the night as he finished off a man advantage situation.<\/p>\n Just as the Blues thought they would go into the locker rooms down two, they conceded once again. This time, Reid Schaefer<\/a> got the goal for Nashsville, putting them in a commanding spot.<\/p>\n Dvorsky scored his second of the game eight and a half minutes through the third, but that proved to be final goal for St. Louis. An empty net goal from Forsberg in the final four minutes gave him his hat-trick, and ensured that the Predators would be walking out with a win.<\/p>\n Both teams are near the bottom of the West, though the Preds have won three of their last four. It is the opposite for the Blues, who have now lost for the third time in their last four contests.<\/p>\n In other games on Monday, Cutter Gauthier<\/a> scored twice in the third period to power the Anaheim Ducks<\/a> to a 4-1 victory<\/a> over the New York Rangers<\/a>. It was the same score at the American Airlines Center, where the Dallas Stars<\/a> came out on top<\/a> over the Los Angeles Kings<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Manitoba, Brady Tkachuk<\/a> scored two minutes and 11 seconds in to overtime to help the Ottawa Senators<\/a> to a 3-2 win<\/a> against fellow Canadian side Winnipeg Jets<\/a>.<\/p>\n