The Tampa Bay Lightning took down the Florida Panthers down in the opening bout of the 2025-26 Battle of Florida on Saturday. 3-1.
While the Lightning bounced back from being smacked by the New York Rangers on Wednesday, 7-3, the Panthers weren’t able to extend their winning streak beyond a couple of games. Unsurprisingly, this heated rivalry featured its share of heated moments.
Recap of Battle of Florida Part I
It didn’t take long for tempers to flare. Before the game was halfway through the first period, there were some scuffles between the two teams. The Lightning managed to strike first amid the chaos with a goal from Emil Lilleberg (2). The score was held at 1-0 until the end of the period.
- Jack Finley (first career goal)
- Brad Marchand (one goal)
- Andrei Vasilevskiy (.958 save percentage)
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