SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers saw their winning streak snapped at four games with a 4-0 loss to the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.
The final game of a home-and-home series, each team won on the road.
“I think it’s good for hockey and good for Florida,” captain Aleksander Barkov said of the rivalry.
Heading into the holiday break, the Panthers lead the Atlantic Division at 22-12-2.
Over their last 14 games, they’ve gone 10-3-1.
“It’s still a long way from the finish line,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “We did a lot of traveling. I’ve got lots of faith in these guys and their ability to dig in and claw their way out of fatigue. There’s a lot of will in that room. I’m really proud of what they did this month.”
After scoring just two goals in their loss to the Panthers on Sunday, the Lightning struck twice within the first 10 minutes of the first period.
With play at 4-on-4, Nikita Kucherov beat Sergei Bobrovsky with a backhand shot to break the ice and put the Lightning up 1-0 at 6:56.
Less than three minutes later, Jake Guentzel sniped a shot to make it 2-0 at 9:20.
On the power play, the Lightning padded their lead even further when Mitchell Chaffee pounced on his own rebound and scored from the slot to make it 3-0 at 16:24.
In a very scary moment, Matthew Tkachuk headed down the tunnel and did not return after being the victim of a knee-on-knee hit from Kucherov late in the first period.
Immediately after hitting the ice, Tkachuk signaled a trainer to come get him from the bench as he had to be helped off the ice, putting not weight on his right leg.
Kucherov received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the play.
As for any supplementary discipline from the NHL, we’ll have to wait and see.
Thankfully, Tkachuk returned to the ice early in the second period.
When he took his first steps onto the ice, the crowd erupted in cheers.
"That's who he is,” Barkov said of Tkachuk’s toughness. “He's incredible. He's not going down easily. You can count on him. He's going to come back no matter what. He's a true, true warrior. He battles through a lot of things."
Just before the midway point of the second period, the bad blood boiled over when a big clean hit from Dmitry Kulikov on Lightning forward Gage Concalves sparked a big brawl.
Once the dust had settled, two players from each squad were in the penalty box.
With a few minutes left in the period, the Panthers had two more players get banged up as both Niko Mikkola and A.J. Greer headed down the tunnel. Greer returned for the start of the third period, but Mikkola did not.
Mikkola is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
“He tried to come back, but he couldn’t,” Maurice said.
With the Panthers on a power play and pulling Bobrovsky for a 6-on-4 advantage, the Lightning tacked on one more goal when Brandon Hagel cashed in on the empty net for a shorthanded goal to make it 4-0 at 14:18.
Over the final two periods, the Panthers led 28-11 in scoring chances.
In Tampa Bay’s net, Jonas Johansson made 36 saves for his fourth-career shutout.
After getting through a grueling early-season schedule, the Panthers are eager to recharge over the next few days.
"We need these four days bad,” Maurice said. “Between guys with the flu and a bunch of guys playing not at 100%, we think most of them will get right back to good."
THEY SAID IT
“Matthew has got a great emotional feel for the game about what has to happen next. He just knew we needed him.” – Paul Maurice on Matthew Tkachuk returning to the game
“We had a lot of shots. Maybe didn’t have enough traffic at the net, didn’t have guys there for rebounds or anything like that. Tampa did a good job with that, not letting us get to the net easily. Their goalie played well.” – Aleksander Barkov on the lack of goals
CATS STATS
- The Panthers led 24-14 in scoring chances at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
- A.J. Greer had a team-high six hits.
- Aleksander Barkov went 9-for-12 (75%) in the face-off circle.
- Six different Panthers registered multiple blocked shots.
WHAT’S NEXT?
It’s time to enjoy the holidays.
After taking a few days to rest and recharge, the Panthers will return to action with a matchup against the Montreal Canadiens at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
For tickets, click HERE.
