ORLANDO – Giving a mix of prospects and newcomers a chance to make one last impression, the Florida Panthers kicked their final road trip of the preseason with a 3-2 loss to the rival Tampa Bay Lightning in a neutral-site matchup at Kia Center on Tuesday.
With just two exhibition games remaining -- both against Tampa Bay -- before the regular season begins, the Panthers are expected to roll with veteran lineups the rest of the way as the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions prepare to begin yet another quest for the Cup.
“I thought they played their butts off,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the team’s prospects. “I was really happy with that. The things that the fans never get is to hear the bench. We’re at the end of camp now, but they’re coming together. They’re cheering for each other.”
Even with the Panthers not deploying their regulars, the Battle of Florida still had bite.
Getting fans to their feet early, Noah Gregor, who’s in camp on a PTO with the Panthers, dropped the gloves with Lightning defenseman Roman Schmidt in the first period.
With the Lightning on a 5-on-3 power play later in the first period, Oliver Bjorkstrand tipped a quick point shot from Darren Raddysh past Brandon Bussi to make it 1-0 at 10:29.
Responding for the Panthers, MacKenzie Entwistle sent a puck into the slot that bounced off a Lightning skater before squeaking past Jonas Johansson to make it 1-1 at 14:45.
After injuries limited him to 15 games between the regular season and playoffs with the Charlotte Checkers last season, Entwistle has a new opportunity to settle in with Florida’s organization after signing a two-year, two-way contract with the Panthers back in July.
A veteran piece of the pipeline, the 26-year-old has appeared in 193 career NHL games.
Helping keep the newfound tie intact for Florida, Bussi stoned Boris Katchouk on a shot from right on top of the crease with under four minutes left in the first period.
Breaking the deadlock in the second period, Conor Geekie, with play at 4-on-4, beat Bussi with a fiery wrist shot from the slot to put the Lightning up 2-1 at the 11-minute mark.
Jakob Pelletier tacked on another goal for Tampa Bay just 28 seconds later when he flew down the slot and re-directed a feed from Max Crozier into the cage to make it 3-1 at 11:28.
Cutting into the deficit in the third period, Ryan McAllister took a pass from Wilmer Skoog and beat Johansson with a sweeping shot from the right circle to make it 3-2 at 2:30.
“I thought we played a hard game,” said McAllister. “I thought my line was pretty good all night. Me and Skooger, we’ve got a little bit of chemistry there. We played a little together last year. I thought Scwhinny (Kai Schwindt) did a great job down the middle there.”
Breaking out to the tune of 15 points (7G, 8A) in 16 games before his season was suddenly cut short due to an unfortunate injury last year, McAllister is now eager to pick up where he left off.
“I’m super excited to get back to Charlotte and just kind of get back to playing with (Checkers head coach Geordie Kinnear),” McAllister said. “I’m super excited.”
Not letting the Lightning regain their two-goal cushion not long after that, Trevor Carrick went down to the ice while defending a 2-on-1 rush to shut down a dangerous attempt.
Finishing with 26 saves, Bussi’s biggest moment for the Panthers came on the penalty kill late in regulation when he lunged to his left to rob Nick Abruzzese on a point-blank shot from the doorstep.
“Boy, he was really good tonight,” Maurice said of Bussi's performance.
Despite a few quality looks before the buzzer, Florida’s comeback fell just short.
Still, it was an impressive showing of grit and determination for the group.
“We talked about not changing the way we play too much just because we’re down two,” said Skoog, who finished with two assists. “We got that goal early and it gave us a little more hope. We gave it a push at the end, but we couldn’t get the third one.”
With many young players soon heading back to the AHL as camp starts to wind down, the belief is that all of them will be packing a little bit of “Panthers Hockey” in their bags.
“The hockey they’ll learn, but you want them to take a piece of that culture with them,” Maurice said.
