In the battle of Florida, once again, the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning hashed out their anger towards each other through fights and extracurricular activities.

Ultimately, the Lightning left with the two points, defeating the Panthers 4-2. The Panthers took an early lead with an Eetu Luostarinen goal, but three unanswered goals by the Lightning were enough to secure the victory. 

Unsurprisingly, the game was marked by penalties, with two resulting in fines. Anton Lundell was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for high-sticking Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel. Coincidentally,  Scott Sabourin has been fined $2,018.23, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for slashing Florida’s Niko Mikkola. 

The Panthers had 10 power play opportunities, converting just one. The Lightning had six but failed to score. In the end, the Panthers were given 49 penalty minutes. The Lightning were handed 85 penalty minutes. 

Prior to the game, the Panthers and Lightning were warned by the NHL to keep the fights and altercations clean. The NHL Department of Player Safety felt that none of the altercations needed supplementary discipline, and no suspensions were handed out. 

The Panthers and Lightning have met three times this season, with one more game set for Feb. 5 in Tampa. The Panthers have won just one of three matchups this season. 

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