Panthers Own the Lightning, Hockey In Florida Right Now

The Florida Panthers got another win against the Lightning on Sunday, their seventh in the past nine meetings — if you count last year’s playoffs and, you can bet they both count last year’s playoffs.

And, if you are in the betting mood, you can put your money on the Lightning coming out with their eyes on fire tonight when the two meet again.

The natural rivalry between the Panthers and Lightning took a couple decades to get going  since the only thing these teams truly had in common was having palm trees outside their arena.

But now, the Panthers and Lightning are two of the top teams in the NHL — their rivalry exceeding the state line.

Over the past five seasons, either the Lightning or Panthers have played in the Stanley Cup Final.

In three of those five, the Stanley Cup took an extended vacation in the Sunshine State.

No One Covers the Florida Panthers Like FHN. Period.

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Even though the Panthers have long owned the upper hand in the regular season series, Tampa Bay winning the Cup three times meant they ran things in Florida.

The Panthers are now the champs, and, they continue to look like it.

Florida, which beat the Lightning in 5 to kick off its run to the Stanley Cup championship last year, beat Tampa Bay 4-2 on Sunday in the first of (at least) four games between the two this season.

Tampa Bay ended Florida’s season with playoff wins in 2021 and 2022, but during the regular season, the Panthers have now won 12 of 20 against the Lightning and are averaging just over 4 goals per game.

It has turned into the kind of rivalry the NHL had been hoping for.

There is a real dislike between the Kings and Ducks in Southern California, and now they have a heated one in Florida.

The folks in Canada may not care about hockey rivalries in the sunnier climes, but it certainly has helped grow the sport.

The Lightning and Panthers have done their part in Florida.

Even on a football Sunday, the Lightning drew over 19,000 to watch hockey. The Panthers will likely do the same tonight.

In Round 1 of this year’s series, the Panthers were tied up with the Lightning for a bit, but they never trailed.

Up 1-0 on a deflection goal from Sam Reinhart off a blistering one-timer from Aaron Ekblad, the Panthers found themselves tied going into the second.

A pair of back-to-back penalties on Evan Rodrigues and Uvis Balinskis could have spelled disaster for the Panthers — only it was their turning point in the game.

After Florida killed off the Rodrigues penalty, Balinskis went in.

That’s when the fun started.

A.J. Greer, part of Florida’s revamped fourth line, stripped Nikita Kucherov of the puck along the boards and came up on a 2-on-1 with Tomas Nosek.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped Nosek’s initial shot, but Greer found the rebound and roofed it for Florida’s ninth shorthanded goal of the season.

A mere 42 seconds later, Eetu Luostarinen got their 10th to make it 3-1.

The Panthers now have six more shorties than any other team in the league and are two off their franchise high with only 47 games to go.

“The 5-on-5 game probably should be pretty even against these two teams,’’ coach Paul Maurice said of the penalty kill. “Both are deep and have great goaltending, so it’s hard to generate 5-on-5.

“You don’t expect your kill to be that dynamic, but it’s been like that all year and it’s not necessarily a lucky night for us.

“I think that’s their 10th short-handed goal this year, and I don’t think we cheat for it.”

Jon Cooper has not been around as long as Maurice, but he is one of the game’s most respected and experienced coach.

He has seen some things.

“I’ve coached 900-plus games in this league and, honestly, I don’t remember giving up two shorties in one power play,’’ Cooper said. “Maybe I have, but I don’t remember it. This game is full of momentum, so when you score two short-handed goals on one power play, which team do you think is going to get momentum?”

It was the Panthers.

With Spencer Knight giving the Panthers a strong game and keeping things close, the Lightning only got within a goal.

Reinhart put one into an empty net in the final minute and it was time to turn the charter planes toward Fort Lauderdale.

No, these two do not share rides.

“Every time we play, it seems like it’s a game like that: close right down to the wire,” Reinhart said.

“The more opportunities in those types of games you can have, the better off you are going to be down the road. Being able to come out on the right side of those games is big for confidence.”

ON DECK: GAME No. 36

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Monday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Season Series — At Tampa Bay: Sunday; Ap. 15. At Florida:Monday; March 3.
• Last Regular Season: Panthers Won 2-1
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 77-51-19, 10 ties
• All-Time Postgame Series: Lightning Leads 2-1 (won 2021 first-round, 2022 ECS); Florida d. Lightning 4-1 in 2024 first-round.
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Montreal Canadiens, 1 p.m.