RECAP: Lightning 2, Panthers 0 (Preseason)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Even in the preseason the Battle of Florida is, well, a battle.

In a physical matchup that featured 160 combined penalty minutes, the Lightning secured a 2-0 win over the Panthers in a rowdy neutral-site game played at Amway Center in Orlando on Tuesday.

The game was the first of three straight the two rivals will play to close out the preseason.

"As you can tell, it was pretty intense,” Panthers forward Steven Lorentz said. “The physicality was there. It looked like it picked up where it left off last year. It's good to see the emotions this high early in the season. I thought we battled hard. We’re ready to get back it on Thursday.”

Earning an early power play, the Lightning managed to break the ice when Tyler Motte found Tanner Jeannot around the net for a backdoor tap-in to make it 1-0 at 5:24 of the first period.

From there, the penalties started to pile up for both teams.

After all, this is a rivalry.

By the time the horn sounded to signal the end of the opening 20 minutes, there had already three slashing penalties, a hooking penalty and an interference penalty. In the final minutes of the period, Ryan Lomberg and Tampa Bay’s Austin Watson also each received misconducts.

In the second period, there were a whopping 13 more combined penalties. As the action after the whistles got hotter and hotter, tempers continued to boil over. That evident agitation took the form of six roughing penalties and one quick fight between Casey Fitzgerald and Watson.

Outside of the pushing and shoving, the biggest highlight for the Panthers in the middle frame came from none other than Sergei Bobrovsky, who helped keep the deficit at just one goal when he challenged Brandon Hagel, a 30-goal scorer last season, on a breakaway and denied him.

“It was a good game,” said Bobrovsky, who is looking to build off his spectacular showing during last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Final. “It was a high-intensity game. It’s nice to be back. It’s nice to play hockey. It’s nice to be back together.”

Adding to the overall unusualness of the game, both teams skated to their respective locker rooms with 4:12 left in the period after a panel of glass needed to be repaired. By moving up the intermission, they ended up finishing the period and then immediately starting the third period.

Early in the final frame, the Panthers survived and extended 4-on-3 power play for the Lightning, with a save from Bobrovsky on Mikey Eyssimont serving as an exclamation point on the big kill.

Tempers still flaring, Nikola Mikkola and Bolts grinder Tanner Jeannot fought soon after.

Gaining a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:35, the Lightning managed to finally get another puck past Bobrovsky – who made several massive stops only a few moments earlier – when Nick Paul re-directed a shot from Alex Barre-Boulet into the back of the net to put the Panthers in a 2-0 hole at 10:46.

With just under four minutes left in regulation, a multi-player scuffle broke out near the benches that resulted in Anton Lundell, Mike Reilly and Matthew Tkachuk receiving misconducts for the Panthers, and Waltteri Merela, Calvin de Haan and Jeannot getting misconducts for the Lightning.

Bobrovsky finished with 20 saves, while Jonas Johansson stopped all 25 shots he faced in Tampa Bay's net.

“Some individuals and some team play, but it’s a difficult game to assess just in the man-power situations,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said when asked what he can take away from the contest. “Moving the puck was a bit of a challenge for both teams tonight.”

CATS QUOTES

“It’s good. It almost has that playoff feel early in the season, right away. Obviously we had a short summer here. The guys came prepared to work. Obviously there was a little bit of rust early and the ice wasn’t so great, but I think we found it pretty quickly.” – Lorentz on the intensity of tonight’s matchup

“You build your game. You get your things together from the offseason. Just the little details, the little things. You get your emotions, your feelings back and your timing back. That’s the key thing.” – Bobrovsky getting ready for the regular season

WHAT’S NEXT?

Who’s ready for Round 2?

With two games left until the regular season begins, the Panthers will head to Tampa for rematch with the Lightning on Thursday at Amalie Arena.

The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. ET and will be streamed at FloridaPanthers.com