10 THINGS FROM PANTHERS/LIGHTNING PRESEASON FINALE

FLORIDA – The Tampa Bay Lightning used a three-goal third period to down the Florida Panthers 4-2 in Sunrise on Saturday evening and take the rubber match of their three-game exhibition mini-series. Here are 10 things coming out of the game and heading into the regular season:

1 – SLOW START: It would be misleading to say it was a sluggish start at FLA Live Arena. Although the teams emerged scoreless after the opening frame, the Panthers held a 10-1 shot advantage at one point and came out of the opening 20 minutes with an 18-9 shot lead.

2 – VASI: The Cats had a tough time solving Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy all night, although defenceman Kevin Connauton opened the scoring at the 4:51 mark of the second period, going high glove. The 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as Playoff MVP would go on to be named the game’s #1 star, making a whopping 45 saves. Florida outshot Tampa 47-29 on this night.

3 – ON POINT: You always have to be on guard for Lightning sniper Brayden Point. Unfortunately the Panthers weren’t, as Point got free in front of the night and buried the game-tying goal just 1:00 into the third period. The former Moose Jaw Warriors star played in all 56 games for the Lightning last season, leading the squad with 48 points.

4 – PLAY IT AGAIN SAM: Sam Bennett lit the lamp again for the Panthers Saturday night, his second of the preseason. It was an interesting powerplay look, at times, by head coach Joel Quenneville. Bennett was one of four forwards along with Jonathan Huberdeau, Sasha Barkov, Carter Verhaege and Sam Reinhart. Defenceman Aaron Ekblad was, as usual, the quarterback of the powerplay. The Cats were 0/3 with the man advantage, and 3/5 killing penalties.

5 – BARK’ING: It was the first game for Sasha Barkov after the Panthers announced a new 8-year/$80M deal for their marquee player on Friday. On Saturday the Finnish star notched one assist, was plus-1, and played 19:22. Clearly he’s everything you want in a hockey player: a captain, an Olympian, and a Selke Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defensive forward. If there was an award for Unsung Hero, he’d likely win that too.

Said teammate Jonathan Huberdeau on Instagram regarding Barkov’s new deal: “Nobody deserves it more than you my friend. 100! Been together for quite awhile now and never seen a guy work as hard as you every single day! That’s what a leader do.”

6 – BATTLE OF FLORIDA: Was the three-game exhibition series a sign of things to come in the regular season? After the fightfest which was Tuesday’s 3-2 Panthers win in Orlando, things settled down considerably in the two return engagements. As far as the season series goes, it’s tough to predict but you can expect these two squads to be at the top of the Atlantic Division all year long. The Lightning were ranked #1 in NHL.com’s Super 16 this week while the Panthers were 6th-ranked.

“It’s awesome,” said Sam Reinhart of the rivalry after the game. “It’s great to be a part of. The season hasn’t even started for real yet, so, you know I think it’s been important to play a couple and to be in all of them for myself the last week or so. Tonight felt most like a real hockey game, so, it was huge for me personally to get under my belt.”

7 – MORE B.O.F.: TSN NHL Insider Darren Dreger appeared on The Rod Pedersen Show from Pompano Beach this week and feels these two teams currently represent the NHL’s top rivalry. “The Florida Panthers are envious of the Lightning,” Dreger surmised. “Every team in the league that hasn’t won back-to-back Stanley Cups like the Lightning is envious.”

“I look at the Florida Panthers and see a very good developing team,” said Dreger. “We saw the strides they made last year and the year before, and they are most definitely on the upswing. They have some intriguing pieces. They have good young developing elements to that team, and a healthy battle in the crease.”

8 – CREASE CRASH: Quenneville pulled his goaltender with around 2:50 remaining Saturday night, down 4-2. However the Panthers just couldn’t get a pea by Vasilevskiy. At the other end, Sergei Bobrovsky faced 29 shots and stood tall. You can expect he’ll be between the pipes on Thursday when the Panthers open their 28th season at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

9 – Q: The Panthers finished the preseason with a 5-2-0 record and now turn their sights towards the Penguins. Joel Quenneville can’t wait. “[For] the guys, this is what it’s all about,” Quenneville said postgame. “You want to make sure there’s some things you get through before you exit the training camp and leave it on a positive note. Guys want to play real games. You see the same team three times you know, so. Now we want the ones that count.”

A huge positive for the Panthers is that they made it out of the preseason injury-free, it appears. The same can’t be said for Washington (Alex Ovechkin), the New York Rangers (Ryan Reaves) nor L.A. Kings (Quinton Byfield).

10 – PREDICTIONS: Here’s my prediction for the standings of the NHL’s Atlantic Division for 2021-22 – Boston, Florida, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Detroit, Buffalo.

Let the games begin!

RP
@rodpedersen

(Photo: Florida Panthers)