Panthers, Lightning proving chippy series on the way with playoff precursor
SUNRISE, Fla. — Eight more like this? Yes, please.
The Sunshine State playoff showdown hasn’t begun yet between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, but if the penultimate regular-season game for both teams on Saturday night was any indication, there will be no shortage of physicality, chippiness and fisticuffs.
About a half-dozen fights broke out and 154 penalty minutes were handed out in the Panthers’ 5-1 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion at BB&T Center.
More importantly in the big picture for the Panthers, however, the victory behind forward Alex Wennberg’s hat trick and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky’s 28 saves on 29 shots moved Florida into second place in the Central Division, two points ahead of Tampa Bay in the standings. With the intrastate playoff matchup already locked in between the division’s No. 2 and 3 seeds — behind the division-champ Carolina Hurricanes — the Panthers can secure the higher seed and home-ice advantage in Monday’s regular-season finale between the same two teams with a win or overtime loss.
“Sometimes it went back to old-time hockey,” said Panthers coach Joel Quenneville of the physical nature of Saturday’s playoff precursor, “but I thought we did a good job of staying together and doing what we had to do.”
The three-time Stanley Cup champion coach with the Chicago Blackhawks also knows, as the stakes become greater, tempers need to be held in check.
“I think both teams know we’re going to be facing one another,” Quenneville said. “I still think there’s something at stake, so you’ve got to be smart about how you’re playing.”
The fighting started early in the second period between Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg and Lightning defenseman Luke Schenn. It was ramped up a notch in the middle of the period, when Tampa Bay’s Ondrej Palat cross-checked Florida’s Noel Acciari into the boards, sending Acciari into the tunnel after taking a hit on his head/neck area.
It was 2-1 then, but after the Panthers added a pair of goals to go up 4-1 by the time the second period concluded, there was a scrum by the Lightning net. Mason Marchment took a swipe from Tampa’s Mikhail Sergachev. Sam Bennett, Owen Tippett, Brandon Montour and Radko Gudas quickly rushed in to defend their teammate.
Much of the third period was a melee. The Lightning’s Ross Colton took down Tippett after the Panthers’ rookie forward put a hit on Anthony Cirelli. Amid the brouhaha, Gudas body slammed a Lightning player. Before the game was over, Montour went at it with Lightning winger Pat Maroon while the ice crew was already in the rink during a stoppage, and Lomberg got into the action again, as well. Acciari got revenge from the earlier cross-check by landing punches on Barclay Goodrow.
“It was physical,” said Panthers star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, who was sporting a fresh cut on his nose in Saturday night’s postgame web conference with reporters, after notching two points with a goal and an assist. “We don’t mind that. It was a good game, intense game. That’s how it’s going to be along the way. They’re a good team, and they can play physical, so we’ve just got to match that.
“Our team, that’s our character. That’s how we’ve played all year. A little chippy tonight, but everybody’s in the same boat. We want to win, and that’s how we play as a team. It showed tonight what kind of team we are.”
Said Bobrovsky: “I love it. That’s the game of hockey, and that’s the best of it. We had a good crowd behind us. It was a great atmosphere. We’re going to see those guys a lot. I loved everything about [Saturday] night’s game.”
While many around him were fighting, Wennberg was scoring. It was his second hat trick of the season, and his three goals extended his career high to 16 on the season, more than he had over the past three seasons combined with the Columbus Blue Jackets (15).
“[Playing for Florida] has been great from the start,” said Wennberg, said to a one-year contract last offseason. “Obviously, this year has been a little crazy, but for me to come in with this new team, get a fresh start with the coaches and players, it’s been a blast. But there’s still a lot left in the season, so I’m excited to be even better.”
With Bennett coming back into the lineup on Saturday, fellow forwards Carter Verhaeghe and Patric Hornqvist are likely to return from their upper-body injuries for one final tune-up before the postseason on Monday. Verhaeghe has missed the last 13 games and Hornqvist the past six, but both practiced this week. Quenneville said, if Saturday was a playoff game, both would have been active.
