Battle of Florida turns violent as Panthers and Lightning combine for 312 penalty minutes and 16 ejections in fight-filled preseason game

"The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers were scheduled to play a preseason game on Saturday night. Instead, an event more akin to a UFC fight night broke out. The two Eastern Conference rivals racked up an absurd 312 penalty minutes combined, with 16 players being ejected. Incredibly, only four of the total 22 power plays awarded were converted, all by the Panthers, who won the game 7-0."

"The night devolved into a face-punching exhibition due to the Lightning's desire to even the score with the Panthers over forward AJ Greer's excessively violent treatment of Brandon Hagel on Friday. "It was a little bit outrageous," Panthers center Evan Rodrigues said post-game to Florida Hockey Now. "I think it probably would've been better if [we ran out of players], it just got silly and stupid by the end of it. That wasn't hockey.""

"The first period alone featured 59 penalty minutes with multiple fracases breaking out. Of note, Lightning forward Scott Sabourin received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for punching and cross-checking Panthers star defenseman Aaron Ekblad in the face. Panthers winger Carter Verhaeghe created another tussle when he boarded Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons, earning himself a five-minute major and a game misconduct."

Preseason matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers devolved into repeated fights, producing a combined 312 penalty minutes and 16 player ejections. Only four of 22 power plays were converted, all by the Panthers, who won 7-0. The escalation centered on Tampa Bay's reaction to AJ Greer's violent hit on Brandon Hagel, prompting multiple altercations and bench-clearing moments. The first period alone had 59 penalty minutes, including Scott Sabourin's five-minute major and game misconduct for punching and cross-checking Aaron Ekblad, and Carter Verhaeghe's similar major and misconduct for boarding. Early in the second period Tampa Bay had six players in the box and four skaters on the bench. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky remained in his crease and avoided the chaos.

Read at RMNB