Knight, Tippett lead Panthers to fight-filled 3-2 win over Lightning
The Panthers may not have rid themselves of the bitter taste from last season’s playoff exit, nor did they exact any measure of revenge Tuesday night against the rival Tampa Bay Lightning.
Still, a win is just that — whether it’s the preseason, regular season or Stanley Cup playoffs — and the Panthers will take it.
Playing in the first of three consecutive exhibition games against Tampa Bay to close out the preseason, the Panthers took the opener 3-2 on neutral ice at Amway Center thanks in part to a terrific turn in goal by rookie Spencer Knight.
Knight, who took the loss in Game 6 at Amalie Arena last May, ended the night with 27 saves including a number of beauts when the Lightning’s power play held a two-man advantage in the second period.
The second half of the game was marred by a number of fights as the heat these two generated last season reignited. Florida may have also lost fourth-line center Noel Acciari to an apparent shoulder injury.
“That was a fun game and I thought it was a good win even if it was a preseason game,” said Knight, who played in place of scheduled starter Sergei Bobrovsky, who stayed behind in South Florida as his wife Olga was scheduled to deliver the couple’s first child.
“It was good to play hockey again. I wasn’t thinking about [the bad blood], I was just thinking about winning.”
The two teams reconvene Thursday night in Tampa with the preseason finale Saturday night at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise.
Florida will open its regular season next Thursday against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.
Playing the Lightning three consecutive times should help the Panthers prepare for whatever comes next. Tampa Bay is, after all, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs.
“The intensity certainly built up in the playoffs last year and I know it’s preseason but it’s fun hockey to play,” said Owen Tippett, who scored twice in the third to give Florida the lead for good. “You can just tell the rivalry is going to be moving forward.”
Being as late as it is in the preseason, both teams iced lineups loaded with regulars and a few kids fighting for a roster spot sprinkled in.
The two teams played nice in the first period but the tempers that flared so famously at the end of last season sparked again in the second when Florida’s Sam Bennett (suspended for Game 2) ran into Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, setting off a melee in the corner.
Later in the period, Pat Maroon (suspended for the regular season finale between the two) got reacquainted with Florida’s Ryan Lomberg.
“I think there was some carryover, and you don’t get that rivalry until you get a playoff series, and we had an outstanding, very competitive series with them,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said.
On the scoreboard, Florida took the initial lead on a nice shot from Frank Vatrano 5:30 in as he worked up the goal line against Vasilevskiy.
The Lightning tied the score on its 22nd shot of the night on a top-shelf tally from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
The third period opened with more fisticuffs. Bennett and Boris Katchouk went at it before everyone on the ice jumped each other.
Acciari appeared to injure his left shoulder as the scrum was getting started and was slow to get off the ice.
Tippett, who got himself a fight in the second, broke a 1-1 tie not long after the big third-period scrum before giving Florida a 3-1 lead with 10:38 remaining.
Mikhail Sergachev scored Tampa Bay’s second goal with 1:15 left and the net empty.