Florida Panthers take preseason game #3 over the Tampa Bay Lightning

Heading into preseason game #3, the Florida Panthers held a record of 1-1-0, taking a game against the Preds. Could they do the same against the Bolts?

The first line of Huberdeau – Barkov – Dadonov came storming in the opening minutes. Each were skating around like mad men, leaving no ice uncovered. The Panthers were putting on a sustainable amount of pressure, leaving the Bolts’ defenders skating in circles (over the first couple of minutes). Surely the Cats would be rewarded, right?

You got that right! Forward Jamie McGinn tipped home a shot from the point in the opening five minutes of the first period, to give the Cats a 1-0 lead. In the 1st period however, the Cats were hampered by numerous amounts of penalties, going Tampa Bay’s way (8 PP’s for the Bolts). Thankfully, the Panthers cleared each and every one of them with success.

That’s not to say that Tampa didn’t put any pressure on the Cats in their own zone, as they certainly did. Defenseman Victor Hedman rang one-off the bar in the opening four minutes of first period play:

After hitting two crossbars during the 1st period, the Lightning finally received some puck luck going their way. Forward Alexander Volkov netted his first with the Bolts, tying the game up at one a piece:

32 seconds after the Bolts tied the game, Evgenii Dadonov also found his first preseason goal, sniping one top shelf (giving the Cats a 2-1 lead):

With about four and a half minutes into the 3rd, Mathieu Joseph of the Tampa Bay Lightning received a 2 minute minor for cross-checking. Shortly after on the power play, Radim Vrbata notched his first as a Cat, also sniping one home top shelf:

As the Cats started to kill the clock late way into the 3rd, they ran into trouble when Alexander Volkov netted his 2nd of the night, cutting the lead down to one (3-2):

At this point, it put the Panthers back on their feet and gave them the energy to hold down the fort for just a little longer.

The Cats did a good job holding up defensively, as Jonathan Huberdeau would later score an empty net goal (from his own end), giving his side a 4-2 lead:

The Florida Panthers would shortly thereafter close out the game (4-2). It would mark as a well deserved victory, as the Cats will travel back home to take on the Bolts once again (Tuesday Sept 26th, @7:30pm).

In case some of you missed the game, here is your 5v5 CF% shot attempt chart for both teams (all active players):

Stay tuned for our 2017-18 season preview, along with the post game recap, 5v5 CF% analytical charts and GIFS for Tuesday’s game against the Bolts!