PREVIEW: New Panthers 'excited to get a taste' of Battle of Florida

SUNRISE, Fla. - There's no better way to ramp up for the regular season than a rivalry game.
With the preseason starting to wind down, the Florida Panthers will be looking to make some final adjustments when they host the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.
After that, the two teams will close out the preseason with a rematch at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
"It's a good way to test where you're at moving toward that starting night," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of the two games following Wednesday's practice at the Panthers IceDen. "Because of the rivalry, and usually those rivalries are fairly close, both teams get to come in rested and go hard."

While the Panthers are aiming to deploy a veteran-laden lineup against the Lightning, injuries have opened the door for a few prospects and players on the bubble to make their mark. On Wednesday, Ryan Lomberg, Sam Bennett, Nick Cousins, Patric Hornqvist and Matthew Tkachuk sat out practice.
Additionally, Carter Verhaeghe and Colin White returned to practice sporting yellow no-contact jerseys.
"Anybody veteran that's healthy will play in our games," said Maurice, who noted that none of the injuries were overly serious. "We're just being really cautious with the guys that are nicked up a bit."
Sitting at 1-3-0 in the preseason, the Panthers are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Saturday. In that game - which featured very few veterans for the Panthers - Rudolfs Balcers, Lomberg and Zac Dalpe scored for Florida, while Spencer Knight made 43 saves in net.
For offseason additions like Balcers, this will be their first taste of the Battle of Florida.
"Coach said that we should look at the next two games as regular-season games," Balcers said. "They'll probably have pretty much all of their guys, and we'll have our guys. Just try to get the systems in and get ready. They're a great team. I've played against them before, and they're one of the best teams in the league. I'm sure there's some heat out there on the ice between our two clubs, so it'll be fun."
Still looking for their first win of the preseason, the Lightning fell to 0-3-0 following a 7-1 loss to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Sept. 30. Losing the special teams battle, the Lightning went 0-for-6 on the power play, while the Predators went 3-for-6 to cruise to victory on home ice.
Aleksander Barkov and Eetu Luostarinen are tied for first on the Panthers in scoring with three points each during the preseason, while four players are tied for first on the Lightning with one point each.
Over four regular-season matchups in 2021-22, the Panthers went 2-1-1 against the Lightning. In those games, Anton Lundell, Sam Reinhart and Barkov each recorded two goals and three assists for Florida. After winning a playoff series for the first time since 1996, the Panthers were swept out of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Lightning -- who also eliminated them in 2021 -- in the second round.
Even with new faces on both sides, this matchup always lives up to the billing.
"They're a great hockey team and the rivalry is long running," said Marc Staal, who joined Florida on a one-year deal this summer. "I'm excited to get a taste of that. It always makes games throughout the season more exciting when you run into a rival. It's two great teams, and it should be a lot of fun."
HURRICANE IAN RELIEF
All ticket sales proceeds from Thursday's game will benefit Hurricane Ian relief efforts.
Fans are encouraged to drop off donations such as water, nonperishable food items, blankets, pillows and air mattresses to the JetBlue Tarmac prior to entry. All items collected through the Panthers supply drive will be donated to Hurricane relief across Florida.
The Florida Panthers Foundation's combined 50/50 raffle will also benefit Hurricane Ian relief. Fans can purchase 50/50 raffle tickets online by visiting
FloridaPanthers.com/5050Raffle
.
THEY SAID IT
"I think that's a great test for us. It's going to be fun playing against them again. We try to take it day to day here. We put a lot of work in during practice and we don't want to look too far ahead, but the season's coming up." - Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling on facing the Lightning.
"I've gotten older and more mature. My game's more mature. I think I've learned more on the defense side with PK and stuff like that. I think I've become more of an all-around player than I was before." - Lightning forward Vladislav Namestnikov on beginning his second tour of duty with Tampa Bay.
PANTHERS ROSTER
Forwards: Eric Staal, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, Aleksander Barkov, Aleksi Heponiemi, Zac Dalpe, Justin Sourdif, Eetu Luostarinen, Rudolfs Balcers, Chris Tierney, Logan Hutsko
Defensemen:Aaron Ekblad, Radko Gudas, Marc Staal, Lucas Carlsson, Gustav Forsling, Brandon Montour
Goaltenders:Sergei Bobrovsky, Alex Lyon
LIGHTNING ROSTER
Forwards:Corey Perry, Pat Maroon, Alex Killorn, Nick Paul, Brayden Point, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Brandon Hagel, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Cole Koepke, Ross Colton, Gabriel Fortier, Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Steven Stamkos
Defensemen: Philippe Myers, Haydn Fleury, Ian Cole, Nick Perbix, Cal Foote, Victor Hedman, Erik Cernak, Mikhail Sergachev
Goaltenders: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brian Elliott
HOW TO WATCH
When:Thursday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: FLA Live Arena - Sunrise, FL
Stream: FloridaPanthers.com
Radio: N/A
NHL Game Center:
HERE
Tickets:
HERE