George Richards, FHN Publisher
Back in the day, the Florida Panthers used to host boxing matches at BB&T Center.
On Saturday, the Panthers and Lightning engaged in a little Saturday Fight Night as the two teams got reacquainted with one other — and their fists.
The Panthers won Saturday’s opening appetizer before the main course comes in the playoffs next week, getting another Alex Wennberg hat trick in a 5-1 win over the Lightning in Sunrise.
It appears whatever bad blood Florida’s two NHL teams have between them is warmed up again.
Both teams already appear sick of each other — and this thing hasn’t even really started yet.
The Panthers and Lightning played the first of what could be a nine-game set on Saturday.
The two teams combined for over two hours — 154 minutes (at last count) to be exact — of penalty time as six misconducts were handed out. By the time the game was over, both benches had plenty of room on them as a few teammates had been thrown out.
Saturday’s game not only featured at least a half dozen fights, but even had one during a timeout when Brandon Montour and Pat Marrone went at during a break as workers cleaned up rubber rats and ballcaps following Wennberg’s third goal.
This is really going to be fun, eh?
”I love it,’’ Sergei Bobrovsky said. “That’s the game of hockey and that’s the best of it. We had a good crowd behind us, had a great atmosphere and we’re going to see those guys a lot. I love everything about tonight’s game.”
To take the No. 2 seed in the Central Division and play host to the Lightning for Games 1 and 2, Florida would have to secure at least one point on Monday night.
If Tampa Bay was to beat Florida in regulation Monday, the two teams would end with 77 points and the Lightning would win the regulation win tiebreaker.
”There is still something at stake so you have to be smart about how you’re playing,’’ Joel Quenneville said. “The score went up and the game got a little, (call it) old time hockey. I thought we did a good job of staying together and doing what we had to do. There was a lot of good between that stuff.”
The hitting started from the start. Some may say the two teams were feeling each other out, but honestly, this was the seventh game the two have played this season.
Interesting note, two of the biggest aggressors on the Florida side were newcomers Sam Bennett and Montour as both ended up watching the end of the game from the locker room.
This was their first game against the Lightning this season as they were both in different divisions prior to being picked up at the trade deadline.
”There’s a good chance that you’re rub people wrong a little bit,” Wennberg said. “There is some intensity, a little fire in it. There were a lot of fights and a lot of energy. Hey, the playoffs are coming up. It was a great game to play out there.”
The Panthers ended up getting two goals from Wennberg as well as markers from Bennett and Jonathan Huberdeau as they took a 4-1 lead into the second break.
After the whistle, Bennett was mixing it up by the goal; Montour messing around with Yanni Gourde along the wall.
In the third, Bennett took a 10-minute misconduct as did Fredrik Claesson. Left out of the penalty conversation, however, was Ross Colton who tackled Owen Tippett (and bloodied his nose) following his hard check of Anthony Cirelli.
Regardless, should be fun on Monday night and after that, it really gets interesting.
The Panthers are now 4-2-1 against the Lightning, their first winning record against Tampa Bay since the team last made the playoffs in 2016.
There’s another series the Panthers would like to take four games in against the Lightning and that one is expected to start as early as Friday night.
”We didn’t expect it to go this way,” Huberdeau said, sporting a gash across the bridge of his nose. “We came in wanting to play our game and win the game. Our focus is winning home ice advantage in the playoffs. But yeah, it was physical. We don’t mind that. It was a good game, an intense game. It’s going to be like that along the way.”
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Wennberg had a big night for the Panthers as he continues to light it up in Florida’s Reverse Retro jerseys.
Remember the last time the Panthers wore these throwback-ish jerseys? He had a hat trick against his former team.
Saturday, he got another one against the Lightning.
”I’ve asked that we wear them every night,” Wennberg said. “We’ll see what happens.”
On the first goal, he set a career high with 14 goals this season; he added to that in the second and then the third.
Wennberg signed a one-year deal with the Panthers after being bought out by Columbus (to be fair, he had a grand total of 15 goals in 198 games with the Jackets over the past three seasons combined) and is probably going to be getting a raise this summer.
On his first goal, he beat Andrei Vasilevskiy stickside for a 1-0 lead; he later gave the Panthers a 3-1 advantage with an less traditional goal as a deflected puck fluttered above the Tampa Bay goalie’s head and landed behind him in the net.
Bennett made it a 2-0 game on a power play snipe before Luke Schenn got the Lightning on the board.
Florida ended up outscoring the Lightning 3-1 in the second period and pretty much let Sergei Bobrovsky do the rest.
Bobrovsky, now 3-2 against the Bolts this season, will likely take Monday off but Quenneville all but said he would be the Panthers starter when the playoffs begin.
Saturday night, Bobrovsky made 27 saves in the win. Vasilevskiy made 31 in the loss.
NAME THAT SERIES
We have to give a name to the first Tampa Bay-Florida postseason series, correct?
There will be a lot of variations of ‘Sunshine State’ for sure.
Since I will be spending a lot of time, I am sure, on I-75 driving back and forth between Sunrise and Tampa, I think I am leaning toward The I-75 Series.
Leave your thoughts in the comments. If you want to, of course.
GEORGE’S THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT
1. Alex Wennberg, Florida
2. Sam Bennett, Florida
3. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida