RECAP: Lightning 4, Panthers 2 (Preseason)

SUNRISE, Fla. – Jonas Johansson made 27 saves to backstop the Lightning to a 4-2 win over the Panthers in the preseason finale for both teams at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

After eight exhibitions, the Panthers are now ready for the points to actually count.

“We feel like we’ve been ready here,” forward Ryan Lomberg said. “We’re ready to start.”

Kicking off a back-and-forth first period, Tanner Jeannot re-directed a long shot from Darren Raddysh past Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Lightning up 1-0 at 2:37. Getting that goal back for the Panthers, Lomberg beat Johansson with a shot from beyond the right circle for a shorthanded goal to make it 1-1 at 11:34.

Taking advantage of a miscue by the Panthers, Anthony Cirelli slipped behind the defense and scored off his backhand after a quick deke to give the Lightning a brief 2-1 advantage at 17:01.

Just 21 seconds later, Eetu Luostarinen scored from on the doorstep after a slick behind-the-net dish from Matthew Tkachuk to make it 2-2 at 17:33. On the play, Josh Mahura made a great play chasing down the puck from the blue line to the end boards and getting it right over to Tkachuk.

Luostarinen’s goal was his team-leading fourth of the preseason.

“Hopefully I can do that in the regular season,” smirked Luostarinen, who is sliding from wing to center for the time being after Sam Bennett suffered an injury against Tampa Bay on Thursday. “It’s been a hard three weeks. Obviously we’re really excited to get the regular season going.”

Applying pressure on the penalty kill, Brandon Hagel put the Lightning back up when he won a battle in the left circle and roofed a shot into the cage to make it 3-2 at 12:18 of the second period.

Just 40 seconds into the third period, Tampa Bay added to its lead when Brayden Point took a pass from Steven Stamkos and ripped a shot past Bobrovsky from the left circle to make it 4-2.

With the preseason now in the books, the Panthers will have a few days to make their final preparations. 

“There’s still a whole lot of things that are involved – the cap, the injury situation that we have,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of the immediate road ahead. “There’s a lot of moving parts. The numbers will come back down to one room and then we can get back to work.”

CATS QUOTES

“I think we’ve discovered some things about some of the new players that are going to fit really well. I feel that everybody got a chance.” – Maurice on his takeaways from the preseason

“I’m pretty comfortable. I’ve been playing a lot of center, so that’s not an issue. It just takes a little while to get the D-zone going.” – Luostarinen on stepping up in Bennett’s absence

“He’s great, works hard. He skates fast for how long he is out there. It’s been great so far. Looking forward to continuing to build that chemistry.” – Lomberg on playing on a line with newcomer Kevin Stenlund

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will begin their three-game road trip to start the 2023-24 season with a matchup against the Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

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