RECAP: Lightning 8, Panthers 7

ORLANDO, Fla. – The good ol’ hockey game.

In another physical, hard-fought, high-scoring edition of the Sunshine State Showdown, the Florida Panthers fell 8-7 to the rival Tampa Bay Lightning at the Kia Center in Orlando on Wednesday night.

For a preseason game, there was no shortage of excitement.

“These are the games that have no label to them,” Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt said prior to getting his first taste of the inter-state rivalry. “From preseason to regular season into playoffs, it doesn’t matter who’s on the ice. When you see that other crest across from you from the other side of the state, things just start to ramp up.”

The hits were flying early into the first period, and the Panthers capitalized on an early Lightning penalty.

After receiving a pass from his brother on the power play, Jesper Boqvist set up Zac Dalpe for a bar-down goal with a nifty drop pass to put Florida up 1-0 at 3:40 of the first period.

Get 'em started Zac! pic.twitter.com/2HEsfedapc

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) September 25, 2024

Adding to the lead shortly after, A.J. Greer, who signed with the team on July 1, found the back of the net on a feed from Adam Boqvist to make it 2-0 in the blink of an eye at 4:35.

“It felt really good to score my first in a Panthers uniform,” said Greer. “It was a great play by Bo (Jesper Boqvist) and Patty (Patrick Giles). We didn’t get the result we wanted and just got to look at the video and focus on the small things.”

They wouldn’t call it a showdown for nothing.

Erasing the two-goal deficit for the Lightning, Darren Raddysh (7:14) and Tobie Paquette-Bisson (19:36) each scored to make it a 2-2 game heading into the first intermission.

Trading chances and hits for the beginning parts of the second period, Tampa Bay put the pressure on with two power-play chances.

Holding off the first opportunity, the Panthers weren’t as fortunate the second time around as Raddysh netted his second goal of the game at 9:50 to put the Lightning ahead 3-2.

Answering back at 11:55, 20-year-old Latvian forward Sandis Vilmanis, who’s preparing for his first pro season, evened the score at 3-3 with a quick wrist shot from the slot on the power play.

“You can almost count that as my first pro goal,” said Vilmanis. “That’s pretty good and helps with the confidence.”

Sandis from the slot pic.twitter.com/LUpmN1Pzqh

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) September 26, 2024

Almost lighting the lamp again soon after, Vilmanis was robbed on a glove save by Tampa Bay’s Jonas Johansson, keeping the game tied for the remainder of the period.

Making his preseason debut, the 6-foot-5 goaltender Ken Appleby took over between the pipes in the third period for the Panthers, replacing veteran Chris Driedger.

Tested early, Appleby made two separate saves on one-on-one chances for the Lightning.

With a chance on the power play for the Panthers, Conor Geekie played early spoiler with a shorthanded goal to put Tampa Bay up 4-3 at 5:06.

On the power play less than a minute later, Jesper Boqvist responded with a goal to make it 4-4 at 5:34.

In a period where both offenses were flying, Lightning winger Niko Huuhtanen snatched the lead away from the Panthers with at goal at 7:01 that made it 5-1. Continuing to trade punches, Wilmer Skoog answered just 1:16 later with a goal to bring the Panthers back to even 5-5 at 8:17.

Backhand beauty pic.twitter.com/mtHe7fWvpo

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) September 26, 2024

Giving the scorekeepers carpal tunnel, Tobias Bjornfot lit the lamp to put Florida up 6-5 at 9:41.

With a goal already in his back pocket, Vilmanis, who really took advantage of his ice time in Orlando, showed off his passing when he set up Ryan McAllister for a goal to make it 7-5 at 12:37.

Setting the stage for a sweat-inducing finish, Maxim Groshev and Dylan Duke found the back of the net for the Lightning at 14:39 and 17:13, respectively, to suddenly even the score 7-7 at 17:13.

Beating the buzzer by two seconds, Geekie locked in the 8-7 win for Tampa Bay with a power-play goal at 19:58.

While the preseason might mean nothing in the standings, you certianly can’t call it boring.

“I don’t think I’ve seen an exhibition game like that,” said head coach Paul Maurice. “I mean there were as many goals as completed passes. There are some things I liked and I’m getting to know some of these young guys.”