Sept. 22: NHL Preseason Roundup
Sept. 22: NHL Preseason Roundup
Panthers win 1st game since Cup championship; Stamkos to make Predators debut as part of split squad
© Joel Auerbach/Getty Images
The Florida Panthers played their first game since winning the Stanley Cup, a 3-2 victory against the Nashville Predators in a split-squad game at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday.
The Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final for their first championship since joining the NHL for the 1993-94 season.
It was the preseason debut for each team.
Sam Bennett, Hunter St. Martin and Rasmus Asplund scored, and Spencer Knight stopped all 19 shots he faced for Florida.
Cole Smith and Joakim Kemell scored, and Matt Murray and Ethan Haider combined to make 20 saves for Nashville.
The Panthers took a 2-0 lead with second-period goals from Bennett and St. Martin 1:31 apart.
Asplund put them ahead 3-0 at 11:23.
Smith cut it to 3-1 with a tip-in past Cooper Black (five saves) at 6:35 of the third period. Kemell made it 3-2 at 13:44.
Steven Stamkos will make his Predators debut in the second game at 6 p.m. ET. The 34-year-old forward signed a four-year, $32 million contract ($8 million average annual value) with Nashville on July 1 after playing his first 16 NHL seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
