Panthers thrashed 6-1 by Lightning in final game before break

"The Florida Panthers got absolutely thrashed 6-1 by the Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena in the final night of action before the NHL shuts down for three weeks for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Tampa Bay, clad in its Stadium Series kit, scored twice in each period with the goals going to Brandon Hagel, Zemgus Girgensons, Jake Guentzel, Erik Cernak, Pontus Holmberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand."

"The teams combined for a whopping 147 penalty minutes and 51 hits, with the Lightning holding a 34-17 edge in that department. Matthew Tkachuk ignited a melee 4:06 into the final frame, when he hit Nikita Kucherov in the back during a stoppage in play, knocking him to the ice. Hagel took exception and start swinging (mostly missing) on Tkachuk. A "highlight" of the fracas was mild-mannered Gustav Forsling beating the tar out of J.J. Moser."

Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Florida Panthers 6-1 at Benchmark International Arena, scoring twice in each period. Goals came from Brandon Hagel, Zemgus Girgensons, Jake Guentzel (power play), Erik Cernak (his first of the season), Pontus Holmberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Holmberg's goal prompted backup Daniil Tarasov to leave with a lower-body injury after stopping 20 of 25 shots. Mackie Samoskevich scored late in the third to break Andrei Vasilevskiy's shutout bid. The teams combined for 147 penalty minutes and 51 hits after a melee ignited by Matthew Tkachuk. Florida enters the Olympic break eight points behind the Bruins with 25 games remaining.

Read at Litter Box Cats