On Thursday night, the Florida Panthers visited their cross-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, earning a 5-3 win without their veterans. In a rare opportunity for a handful of players seeking an NHL job, the Panthers picked up their second preseason win, defeating several NHL award winners like Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy. These two teams meet again on Saturday night to close out preseason action.
Panthers prospect goalies up to the task
Paul Maurice let the rookies take the crease against the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner, Kucherov, starting Cooper Black before Kirill Gerasimyuk took over in the third period. Together, the duo only surrendered three goals on 28 shots, finishing the evening with an .892 SV%.
To their credit, none of the Lightning stars lit the lamp, with Connor Geekie scoring while Jansen Harkins had two. Moreover, Tampa Bay didn’t score on the power play, as both Black and Gerasimyuk made stops to help the penalty killers.
Considering both goalies will get plenty of time in the minor leagues, Thursday’s game was a great opportunity for the Panthers’ management team to see their development. It was also a chance for the coaching staff to see who could get a spot start here or there, considering Florida’s starter Jacob Markström is 36 and his new partner, Akira Schmid, has never been a starter.
Florida’s scoring depth leads the way
In a game without superstars like Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Sam Reinhart, the Panthers’ depth players showed up in a big way. When anyone looks at the scoresheet for Thursday’s game, they will be surprised to see that Florida got goals from Bokondji Imama, Kai Schwindt, Hunter St. Martin, Cole Reinhardt, and Sandis Vilmanis.
The most interesting thing about these goal scorers is that they got four goals behind the reigning Vezina Trophy winner Vasilevskiy, who finished the night with an .833 SV%. Everyone would point out that it’s preseason and these games don’t matter. But the majority of the players in tonight’s Panthers lineup won’t get the opportunities they did in this game against one of the game’s best.
Ultimately, Florida’s depth players came through, capitalizing on the limited chances they had against some of the NHL’s elite.
Panthers bring back the physicality
On Tuesday night, in a rematch with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Panthers collected just 19 hits, slightly less than the 27 they had in the preseason opener. Against the Lightning, arguably their biggest rival, Florida brought the physicality in waves and collected 41 hits. For perspective, at no point during the 2025-26 season did the Panthers even collect 40 hits in a game, topping out at 38 against the New York Rangers on January 2.
As mentioned, Thursday’s matchup was an opportunity for so many skaters, so they hit everything in a blue sweater. Out of the 18 players, only four didn’t register a hit, while Nathan Bastian led the way with seven. Moreover, of the players with a hit, only four had one, while 10 players had more than one.
Experts believe the Panthers will be a physical team that opponents will dislike playing against regularly. In their first meeting with the Lightning, the Panthers' depth showed that no matter who is in the lineup, Florida will be difficult to play against.
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