Observations From Florida Panthers Win over Tampa Bay Lightning

The end of the exhibition season is certainly in sight, with the Florida Panthers playing their penultimate preseason game Wednesday night against the host Tampa Bay Lightning.

Florida has now played seven of its eight preseason games with the finale on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings at the arena Quebec City built in an attempt to try and lure an NHL team.

It ain’t gonna be the Panthers.

Wednesday night, playing with a mixed roster, the Panthers got a fantastic performance in net from Spencer Knight and a goal from Sandis Vilmanis 15 seconds into overtime to win it 2-1.

Florida is expected to make a rash of roster cuts today — only a number of players who were fighting for a spot on the team gave the higher-ups something to gnaw on after strong performances on Wednesday.

Vilmanis, 20, is certainly one of those players as he continues to impress.

Will Vil-Mania live on to see another day this preseason?

Stay tuned.

Here are some things we saw on Wednesday night from the Panthers:

— Knight got a full game with a much more seasoned lineup in front of him and he was terrific.

Although Carolina teed off on Florida’s AHL lineup last week with Knight in net, the Lightning could not do the same on Wednesday night.

Boy, did they try.

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Knight ended the evening with 26 saves on 27 shots, turning away a bunch when Tampa Bay had a 4-on-3 advantage in the second.

Tampa Bay got the game-tying goal with 4:33 left after Nikita Kucherov one-timed a faceoff win from the left circle which sliced over Knight’s glove.

No chance on that.

This may be the final time we see Knight this preseason — although he could get the start in Game No. 2 next Thursday night in Ottawa when the Panthers kick off their first road trip of the season.

— Veteran Zac Dalpe made it clear last week that he came to training camp to try and help the Panthers repeat as Stanley Cup champs.

Dalpe may open the season in Charlotte where he will kick off his fourth season as Checkers captain, but the Panthers know exactly what he brings to the table — and if they need him, they know where he’s at.

Wednesday night, centering Kai Schwindt and Rasmus Asplund, Dalpe played a strong defensive game and got in on Florida’s offense with three shots. He also blocked four shots and forced two turnovers.

Oh, yeah, Dalpe put the Panthers on the board with a nice shot from the top of the right circle which beat Andrei Vasilevskiy at 3:30 of the second.

— Josh Davies showed he could bring the hammer as he drilled new Lightning captain Victor Hedman with a big hit in the neutral zone.

Davies was immediately jumped by Kucherov, later by Conor Geekie.

Geekie took a misconduct for taking down Davies and got a nice break from the game — but Florida’s 20-year-old rookie stayed in and had a strong game.

Davies, Florida’s sixth-round pick in 2022, ended up with a game-high eight hits and made his presence felt with authority.

That’ll get you remembered by the coaching staff.

“No fear. I have loved his game since he came to Charlotte last year,’’ Dalpe said. “He is built like a vending machine and puts his body on the line. Yeah, love the way he plays.’’

— As promised, Paul Maurice had both Jesper Boqvist and Patrick Giles centering lines on Wednesday with both auditioning for the fourth line spot with Tomas Nosek out with injury.

Boqvist did block a shot midway through the third which caused him to leave the game in apparent discomfort. He did return not long afterward.

— After wining six of 20 faceoffs on Monday, Giles won three of five on Wednesday.

If Giles plays on Saturday, he will get the FHN Preseason Ironman Award presented by the Innfield.

Giles has already played in all six of the games he was eligible for.

The Panthers refused to let him play in both games of the doubleheader against the Predators. He wanted to, we know that much.

This beaut is on the line Saturday ⬇️

— Will Lockwood, who is trying to find a bottom-6 spot, left the game in the first period and did not return.

— Vilmanis again filled in for Mackie Samoskevich on the third line with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. 

Samoskevich did run with those two at the morning skate with Maurice saying it was likely the three would be in the lineup on Saturday.

Vilmanis has had a very strong training camp and has continues to keep himself on the Florida radar.

Lundell set up the overtime goal, picking off a pass in the Florida zone and driving it to the net. He lost the puck, but Vilmanis was trailing and put it past Vasilevskiy.

Vilmanis, a fifth-round pick in 2022, had nine shots on goal.

— Niko Mikkola and Uvis Balinskis once again were paired up, with Maurice saying Wednesday he really wants to see some solid play from different defensive pairings.

What we could see is a healthy rotation of seven defensemen this season with Balinskis, Dmitry Kulikov, and Nate Schmidt working in.

Balinskis led all players with 22:44 of icetime on 24 shifts.

PANTHERS (PRESEASON) ON DECK

FLORIDA PANTHERS VS. LOS ANGELES KINGS

• When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Videotron Center, Quebec City
• TV/Streaming/Radio: None
• Last Season (Kings Won 1-0-1) — At Los Angeles: Kings 2, Panthers 1 (Nov. 17). At Florida: Panthers 3, Kings 2 OT (Jan. 11)
• All-time Regular Season Series: Los Angeles leads 26-14-1, 3 ties
• END OF PRESEASON
• Up Next for the Panthers — 2024-25 NHL Season Opener: Boston Bruins at Florida, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

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KEY DATES FOR THE FLORIDA PANTHERS

• Florida Panthers Preseason: Through Saturday
• Florida Panthers Ring Ceremony, Sunrise: Monday, 6:30 p.m.
• Florida Panthers Opening Night/Banner Unveiling: Tuesday vs. Bruins (ESPN), 7:30