5 Takeaways: Tempers Flare as Panthers Get Best of Lightning in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. - It's safe to say there's still no love lost between these two rivals.
In a heated matchup that featured 96 combined penalty minutes, 10 fighting majors and more than a few thrilling moments usually reserved for the regular season, a pair of goals from Owen Tippett helped lead the Panthers to a 3-2 win over the Lightning at Amway Center on Tuesday.

"I think there was some carry over [from the playoffs]," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "You don't really have that rivalry until you have a playoff series, and we had an outstanding series with them, very competitive. … It's one of those things where sometimes it just happens."
Picking up his fourth goal of the preseason, Frank Vatrano broke the ice and put the Panthers on top early in the first period when he followed up on a shot from Mason Marchment and whacked the ensuing rebound past the outstretched right pad of Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 1-0 at 5:30.
With the opening 20 minutes of play feeling like a powder keg waiting to explode, the action finally turned physical early in the second period when Sam Bennett was assessed a charging penalty for making contact with Vasilevskiy behind Tampa Bay's cage. Prior to that incendiary incident, the only penalty on the board had been a first-period holding infraction on Alex Killorn.

"It just takes one play like that for momentum to go and get tempers to start flying," said Tippett, who dropped the gloves with Corey Perry after the play. "It's just that temper from the playoffs."
Later in the middle frame, the Lightning finally got on the board. With a scramble unraveling around the crease, the puck squirted out of the chaos and onto the stick of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who then buried a shot the bottom of the left circle to make it a 1-1 game at 16:40.
With gallons of bad blood spilling over into the third period after those altercations in the second, the gloves were dropped early and often over the final 20 minutes. Bennett had a pair of fights, while Radko Gudas and Mason Marchment each had one for the Panthers. As for the Lightning, it was Boris Katchouk, Ross Colton, Mikael Sergachev and Zach Bogosian that threw down.
"It gets your attention," Quenneville said of the relentless action.
In between these brawls, Tippett provided the Panthers all the scoring they would need.
Set free up the ice after Juho Lammikko knocked the puck loose with a big hit on a Lightning player in the neutral zone, Tippett skated in all alone on Vasilevskiy, made a quick head fake, and then sent the puck into the back of the twine to make it 2-1 just 2:23 into the final frame.
Not done there, Tippett, who took advantage of a nice screen from Bennett in front, then beat Vasilevskiy once again with a quick shot from the left circle to extend the lead to 3-1 at 9:12.

Pulling their goalie to gain a 6-on-4 power play, the Lightning managed to make it a 3-2 game when Sergachev lit the lamp with 1:15 left in regulation, but Knight shut the door from there.
With the win, the Panthers improved to a perfect 5-0-0 in the preseason.
"He was great," Quenneville said of Knight. "He followed the puck through lots of traffic. They've got bodies and they go to the net hard. They've got their shots, but finds them and he fights through. His positioning is strong. He's ready for the next shot. His composure is great."
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's win in Orlando…

1. VATRANO NETS ANOTHER

Long before the fists started flying, the Cats were doing damage.
For the Lightning fans that made the drive from Tampa to Orlando, their cheers quickly turned into groans when Vatrano pounced a rebound and fired the puck past Vasilevskiy, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy last season, to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead early on in the opening period.

"Every time we play Tampa, there's always energy in the building," Vatrano said. "It's one of our in-conference rivals. We're always getting up for these games. I think we got off to a good start."
Fresh off a campaign in which he recorded 18 goals in 56 games, Vatrano has picked up right where he left off so far in the preseason. In addition to his goal tonight, he scored a hat trick to lead the Panthers to a 5-4 win over the Predators in their first exhibition game back on Sept. 26.
"I'm just keeping it simple," Vatrano said. "It's about getting those second and third chances."
Spending the majority of the preseason on the third line, Vatrano spent tonight's game skating alongside Marchment and Eetu Luostarinen. Another testament to Florida's immense scoring depth, the 27-year-old winger has notched at least 16 goals in each of the last three seasons.

2. TWO FOR TIPPETT

Tippett said he could feel a breakout game coming.
Well, it did.
After showing off his toughness with a fight in the second period, the fiery forward then showcased his dangerous scoring touch by netting a pair of key goals in the third period.
In four preseason games, he's amassed four points (two goal, two assists).
"You build confidence and get yourself going," Tippett said of his steady progress throughout training camp. "I knew it was just a matter of time before the first one went in. It feels good."

With a fight and two goals, Quenneville said Tippett's night deserved some sort of label, much like players who record a fight, a goal and an assist are credited with a Gordie Howe hat trick.
"I still think it's better than a Gordie Howe hat trick," Quenneville said. "He had a couple outstanding shots. That line has been good all camp long. They're a threat off the rush and in the zone. They can blow through holes, and they see each other. They've all got some finish."
Skating alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Bennett, Tippett has been a staple of the second line ever since -- after earning a promotion up from the bottom-six late last season -- he notched four points (one goal, three assists) in six games against the Lightning during the postseason.
"Tippy's had some great stretches," Quenneville said.

3. ACCIARI INJURED

Unfortunately, the news isn't good on Noel Acciari.
After sustaining what appeared to be an upper-body injury during a multi-player scrum in the third period, Quenneville said that the hard-nosed forward is expected to be sidelined for a bit.
"It didn't seem good," Quenneville said.
A tough-as-nails contributor to the bottom-six, Acciari had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 41 contests last season, while also pacing the team's forwards in hits (91) and blocks (63). More should be known on Acciari's status in the coming days.
"We're going to say right now that he's probably out a little bit," Quenneville said.

4. OH WHAT A KNIGHT

It was another strong showing in net for Knight.
Making his second start of the preseason, the 20-year-old netminder looked like his usual calm, cool and collected self while turning aside 28 of 30 shots he faced. Of those goals-against, just one came at 5-on-5 play, while he other was scored when Tampa Bay had a 6-on-4 advantage.
Through two exhibitions, he's gone 2-0-0 with a .950 save percentage.
"I felt good," Knight said of his performance. "It's another steppingstone. I know there's a lot to work on and a lot to improve on. You just go back to the drawing board and just keep building."
Taken with the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Knight turned heads last season when he began his career with the Panthers by going 4-0-0 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .919 save percentage over four appearances (three starts) to close out the regular season.
Also stepping into the spotlight and starting two games against the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he posted a 1-1-0 record with a 2.06 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.
Expected to form a strong tandem with two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, Knight said he's just trying to get better each and every day in all aspects of his game.
"I'm just trying to build, just go out there and play and not overthink it too much," he said.

5. MORE TO COME

There's no denying that this rivalry has become must-see TV.
With one head-to-head matchup in the books and two more to go until the preseason wraps up, the Panthers will now travel to Amalie Arena to face the Lightning on Thursday. After that, they'll then head to FLA Live Arena to host the Lightning in their final exhibition tune-up on Saturday.
Expecting to have some key players return from injury along the way, Quenneville has previously said Anton Lundell and Joe Thornton could possibly be back in the lineup for Thursday's game, while Carter Verhaeghe and Gustav Forsling are tracking for Saturday.
The Panthers will open up the regular season on Oct. 14 against the Penguins in Sunrise.
"The regular season is the regular season, we've still got two more to go," Quenneville said. "Everybody wants to be fresh and healthy when they start. At the same time, these are the games you've got to play, and you've got to be smart."