RECAP: Panthers 7, Lightning 0

SUNRISE, Fla. - Now we play for points.

Closing out the preseason with a win, the Florida Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-0 on Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena.

"It's good,” forward Evan Rodrigues said on getting to the regular season after the game. “We can play some real hockey now and start the real thing."

Not a typical preseason game, after 186 combined penalty minutes on Thursday between the two cross-state rivals, Saturday’s tilt saw 312 penalty minutes.

In the first period, four players received game-misconducts, one resulting in defenseman Aaron Ekblad leaving the game and not returning.

After the game, head coach Paul Maurice said the blueliner would be evaluated on Sunday.

Getting the Panthers on the board, as a result of the penalties, forward Mackie Samoskevich opened the scoring at 5:32.

Striking again on special teams, to make it 2-0, Rodrigues put in a rebound past Tampa Bay netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy at 11:54.

Not long after, while four-on-four, forward Jack Studnicka made it 3-0 with a wrist shot at 15:34.

His fourth of the preseason.

Standing tall in net, despite the stoppages, Sergei Bobrovsky made 10 saves in the period.

“Probably a hard game for him too with all the stops between the reps,” Luostarinen said of Bobrovsky’s performance. “He played unreal again, so that was good for us.”

Another feisty period in the second, that resulted in numerous penalties and misconducts, the Panthers still managed to bring some offense.

Scoring for the first time as a Panther, defenseman Jeff Petry ripped in a slap shot on the power play at 12:57 to extend the lead to 4-0.

Less than a minute later, Rodrigues found the net again on the power play to give the Panthers a 5-0 advantage.

Also lighting the lamp for the second time in the game, Samoskevich tipped in a long range pass from Tyler Motte, putting the Panthers ahead 6-0.

In the third, each team made a switch in net, as the Panthers went from Bobrovsky to Daniil Tarasov and the Lightning exchanged Vasilevskiy with Pheonix Copley.

Through two frames, Bobrovsky stopped all 15 shots he faced.

With more scuffles and game misconducts in the third, both teams were left with a short bench.

"Sergei was really good,” Maurice said after the game. “Roddy got three, that's awesome. Uvis Balinskis played forward and defense."

Amid the chaos, Rodrigues completed his hat trick at 5:33, making it 7-0.

“I think we tried to do the best thing, focus on our game, play fast and all that going on the side,” said Luostarinen. “We scored seven goals, so we did something right.”

Closing it out, the Panthers would end with a 7-0 win and now shift their focus to the start of the regular season.

"We're excited about opening night, opening season, and playing for points,” said Bobrovsky.

WHAT’S NEXT

Regular season!

The Panthers will start their first of 82 against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena at 5 p.m. ET.

Get to your seats early, as the Panthers will raise their 2025 Stanley Cup banner ahead of puck drop.

To get tickets, click here.