George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Florida Panthers know exactly what they’re up against when the Tampa Bay Lightning come to town Thursday night.
Not only are the Lightning the defending Stanley Cup champions, but it has won its past six games with wins in nine of 11 to kick off the season.
Tampa Bay is outscoring its opponents by a league-high 22 goals, has an All-World goalie who has surrendered just 18 goals in 10 games.
Oh, and the Lightning has won 10 of 12 against the Panthers not including that 5-0 exhibition blowout last summer in Toronto.
Florida has opened its season 7-1-2, one of the best starts in franchise history.
But this is different.
This is the Tampa Bay Lightning, arguably the best team in hockey, not the Detroit Red Wings.
The Panthers are 10 games into their season but, really, it starts tonight.
Tampa Bay and Florida come into the game the top two teams in the Central Division standings.
Tuesday’s game: Florida Panthers 2, Detroit Red Wings 1
“They do everything right, it’s a great challenge, a great test,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “One game at a time. I know that’s a statement you hear a lot, but against that team, you have to tighten it up a bit.
“They have so many weapons, their possession game is high-end. I think we played some strong games, some consistent games.
“We’re going to need everything going our direction going in and it’s a great test for us. … Our next opponents are at the top. Let’s be ready. We’ll find out a little more about our team which I am looking forward to.’’
Thursday’s game against the Lightning is the first of three in this series — two in Sunrise (tonight, Saturday) and No. 3 on Monday in Tampa. The two will play each other eight times this season.
How good, really, are the Panthers?
We’re going to find out.
“Obviously they are the defending champions and are the measuring stick of the league,” Keith Yandle said.
“For us, it’s a good test. We have to be willing to play — we have three games here — and it’s going to be a tough test but I think we are up to the challenge.”
The Panthers are a bit different than the last time the Lightning saw them.
One newcomer on the team is well-known to the Lightning.
Carter Verhaeghe, tied for the team lead with Patric Hornqvist with six goals, was a bottom-six rookie with the Lightning last season and part of the second Stanley Cup championship team in franchise history.
When the season was over, the cap-strapped Lightning had to make some tough decisions.
One of them was not offering Verhaeghe, a restricted free agent, a qualifying offer. That allowed Verhaeghe to hit the open market and, the following day, he signed a two-year deal with the Panthers.
Verhaeghe says he is obviously grateful for the experience he got in Tampa — and understands that in a “cap world” not everyone was going to be able to stay with the championship team.
“It’s definitely a good challenge and I am excited,” Verhaeghe said Wednesday.
“There are a lot of familiar faces, a lot of good friends. It will be kind of weird but I am looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a great challenge.”
Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise
Tickets: ON SALE HERE
TV/Radio: FSF/560-AM