Thursday’s matchup between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning ended with a 6-1 win for Tampa Bay, but the game drew attention for its high number of penalties and a full line brawl. The physical nature of the game led to multiple instances of misconduct and an ejection, showing the disciplinary side of the rivalry-filled night.
The game also showed challenges for the Lightning as they balanced aggressive play with maintaining control on the ice.
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The Lightning extended their winning streak to five games and have taken their season record to 37-14-4. They are at the top of the Atlantic and faced the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida, who are placed at the bottom of the same division.
In the first 47 minutes, so much happened in the game, but Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was firm in the net and eventually won the game. He stopped a total of 33 shots, and players like Brandon Hagel and Jake Guentzel scored for Tampa Bay.
Florida’s Daniil Tarasov allowed five goals on 25 shots before leaving with an undisclosed injury, with Sergei Bobrovsky taking over in net.
The game was full of physicality, with penalties getting served in each period. And it started with Nikita Kucherov’s cross-check on Anton Lundell, for which he received a 2-minute minor. And later at 18:58, two players from each team received penalties. The period ended with Matthew Tkachuk receiving 2 minutes for abuse of officials.
In the second period, Sam Bennett, J.J. Moser, Matthew Tkachuk, and Victor Hedman each received 2 minutes for roughing at 16:06. But what we saw at 4:06 in the third period was complete chaos. Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk knocked Kucherov to the ice, triggering a full line brawl.
Lightning players Brandon Hagel, Darren Raddysh, Jake Guentzel, Yanni Gourde, and J.J. Moser joined, along with Panthers players Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Gustav Forsling, Donovan Sebrango, and Tkachuk.
Thirteen penalties were given after the brawl, including 10-minute misconducts for Sebrango, Forsling, Bennett, Guentzel, Kucherov, Gourde, and Verhaeghe. Panthers coach Maurice was ejected, replaced by assistant Jamie Kompon. The fight and other infractions in the game brought the game total to 147 penalty minutes.
The NHL disciplinary actions after the game highlighted differences in how penalties are handled.
Tampa Bay Sports Director Evan Closky shared that seven games between the teams this season led to roughly $8,000 in fines for Florida and $135,000 for Tampa Bay, including two player suspensions totaling six games.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice also talked about the loss, saying the third and fourth goals put them behind, but he was pleased with the team’s play until that point.
“I loved our first. The third goal hurt us, but the fourth goal kind of put the game out of reach a little bit for us. But up until that point, I was really pleased with the way we were playing,” Maurice said after the game.
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The Panthers will try to recover as they face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 26, after the Olympic break. They need to rebuild momentum and improve defensively after losing five of their last six games.
On the other hand, Tampa Bay faces the Maple Leafs a day earlier and will look to continue its winning streak.
