The Backcheck: Lightning enter Olympic break with demolition of Florida Panthers

Fans at Benchmark International Arena on Thursday night might have been unsure of what to expect for the final rendition of the 2025-26 Battle of Florida.

With both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers dealing with multiple injuries and their seasons headed in two different directions, would there be any extra animosity?

In the last game before the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and nearly a full NHL roster of international representatives between the squads, would fans see messages sent ahead of the countries going head-to-head next week?

Check. Check.

And, most importantly, would the Lightning take care of business to remain the hottest team in hockey headed into the Olympic break?

Check that box, too. Tampa Bay won its latest emotional game behind 33 saves from goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy as well as six goals from six Olympians in a 6-1 beatdown of the Panthers on Thursday, improving to 19-1-1 in the team’s last 21 games.

“It's been incredible. You can gain a lot of confidence off continuing to win and playing the right way, and I think that's what we've done,” Lightning forward Brandon Hagel said of the team’s recent stretch. “I think a lot of guys in this dressing room have stepped up from getting called up with lot of injuries, and we've still stayed the course and continued to play the same way. We’ve put ourselves in a really good spot.”

Vasilevskiy and Hagel were both central in Thursday’s box score from the opening minutes.

The home team scored two goals on seven shots against Florida goaltender Daniil Tarasov in the first 20 minutes to claim a lead despite being outshot 19-7.

Hagel jumpstarted the Bolts just over two minutes into the game, redirecting defenseman Victor Hedman’s shot from the point through Tarasov. The Lightning then doubled their lead with 5:52 left in the opening frame as Zemgus Girgensons whacked a loose puck through Tarasov’s pads in the slot.

Tampa Bay killed off nearly 90 seconds of a 5-on-3 Florida power play late in the period with help from Vasilevskiy to maintain their lead. The Lightning offense never slowed from there, and neither did the chaos.

“Huge killing off that 5-on-3, and Vasy came up with some big saves,” Hedman said. “It wasn't the cleanest first period, but we still had a 2-0 lead. We just kept building on it there going into the second and then in the third. That's what good teams do. Even if we’re not at our best, we still were able to put two past them, so just got to keep that rolling.”

Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk put the Lightning on the power play to open the second period with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and Jake Guentzel extended the home team’s lead to 3-0 on a rebound chance 1:14 into the middle frame following Darren Raddysh’s shot from atop the power-play.

Tampa Bay then took a 4-0 lead with 2:10 left in the period on a wraparound goal from Erik Cernak, the defenseman’s first goal of the year.

“I feel like I had to get on board before the Olympics if they need me for the power play,” Cernak joked after the game. “It's a nice feeling to get the first one of the season, and hopefully now it's going to be easier.”

The third period was more chaotic, starting with a massive scrum four minutes in after Tkachuk hit Lightning leading scorer Nikita Kucherov without the puck. Hagel jumped Tkachuk to fight moments later, and Lightning defenseman JJ Moser squared off with Florida defenseman Gustav Forsling as well.

Multiple players were removed from the game after the incident, and Panthers coach Paul Maurice was ejected with a game misconduct. The teams combined for 147 penalty minutes, and Tampa Bay’s 34 hits marked their second-most in any game this season.

“I think we go into every game with the same passion, but obviously there's rivalries. There's a little bit something different to it. I can't even pinpoint what exactly it is, but it's just been going on, and it's good,” Hagel said of his team’s rivalry with Florida. “It builds character in this dressing room, it brings a team closer together. Obviously, they're an incredible team over there. Look what they've done the past three years. It's pretty simple. We want to get back to the top, and when you want to get back to the top, you've got to beat the top. Obviously, we've got a little bit more fire just because of that as well."

Tampa Bay ended up with a power play from the situation, and forward Pontus Holmberg tucked home the puck on the two-man advantage for a 5-0 lead.

Florida got a power-play goal of their own midway through the third to ruin the shutout, and Tampa Bay forward Oliver Bjorkstrand fired home his 10th goal of the year from the left circle following a Florida turnover to wrap up the scoring in a 6-1 final.

Holmberg and Bjorkstrand each finished with a goal and assist to co-lead the Lightning, and 13 different Bolts finished with a point. Vasilevskiy made 33 saves in net for his eighth straight win.

Tampa Bay now joins the rest of the NHL in a pause for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics before resuming play with a Feb. 25 home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Lightning enter the Olympic break as the top team in the Atlantic Division with a 37-14-4 record, and their 78 standings points tie for most in the Eastern Conference.

“Have we been the perfect team the whole time? No. Have we played pretty well most of the time? Yes,” coach Jon Cooper said postgame Thursday. “The times when we haven't, the goaltender bailed us out, or the penalty kill or the power play, and it's all kind of clicked for us. I can't sit here and say the next 25 or whatever games are going to go like this, but in a division that just keeps winning, in a conference that's been super tight all year, it's nice that we’ve helped ourselves out, but there's still a long way to go.”

Benjamin’s Three Stars:

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (33-save win)
2. Pontus Holmberg, TBL (Goal, assist)
3. Brandon Hagel, TBL (Goal)