Seasons beatings in a tilt that had no shortage of action saw Tampa head into the break with a commanding victory over the Florida Panthers. There is never a dull moment in this in-state rivalry and that was on full display tonight. Nikita Kucherov would be sent home early, tempers would flare, and Jonas Johansson had the night of his life. Nobody was prepared for what happened and that is the beauty of rival games especially when its back-to-back.
Goalies are your best friend
In the opening minute, Lightning had an early chance to score like the night before, but Bobrovsky was able to make the save. Afterwards, Lightning continued to apply the pressure on offense testing the Panthers defense often. Eventually, Panthers would counterattack but Johansson was ready to make the necessary saves. Both goalies were sharp early on with the first 5 minutes remaining scoreless. Then, A.J. Greer and Emil Lilleberg drop the gloves, and both are given minor penalties for roughing. The fight did not last long and surprisingly were not called as fighting majors.
Pair of goals to get the puck rolling
During 4-on-4 play is when the first goal of the game would be scored. Nikita Kucherov fired a backhanded shot that went past Sergei Bobrovsky for his 15th goal of the season and his 50th point. They did not do a great job possessing the puck at the start of 4-on-4 but found an opportunity and that led to the goal. Soon after, Jake Guentzel extended the lead after a great stretch pass led to another goal. It was his 19th of the season, and another roughing call was then called on both teams. This time no damage was done on the 4-on-4 as the score remained 2-0 Lightning.
Smooth as can be 🚨 pic.twitter.com/ZehbgWnl6k
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) December 24, 2024
Losing Kucherov for the night
First power play of the night went to the Lightning after the Panthers are booked for slashing. On said power play Mitchell Chaffee scores to make it a 3-0 game off a perfect tip-in. Kucherov and Matthew Tkachuck collide and Kucherov is called for a major penalty that would be reviewed. Tkachuk would immediately head to the locker room as he struggled to get up and would need assistance. After review, Kucherov is given a five-minute major and a game misconduct while Aaron Ekblad is given a minor for rouging. As a result, Kucherov’s night is over, and Tampa Bay would be without one of their best players for the rest of the game. Period ends with the Lightning leading 3-0 and Panthers would carry over 1:51 of power play time.
Chaffee makes it 3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/wdWVsROaDw
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) December 24, 2024
Beatings continue to arise
Second period began with Florida still on the power play. Unfortunately, Lightning would cough up a penalty just before the Kucherov major expired. It would get worse for the Lightning as Erik Cernak is sent off for rouging giving the Panthers another 5-on-3 power play. Johansson made a nice save to prevent a goal and both penalties were then killed off. Panthers now were 0-3 on the power play as Tampa looked to gain momentum. A turnover by Johansson nearly gifted a goal to Florida but the puck stayed out thanks to a block by Nick Perbix. Panthers’ offense has kept Johansson busy for a majority of the period, yet he continued to be an impenetrable wall. Lightning have to regroup quick before Florida takes full advantage to all this time in the offensive zone.
Johansson continues to amaze
The scrums would continue which was expected given how physical these teams always play in these match ups. It really felt like seasons beatings with the holiday break starting tomorrow and all the penalties being called Lilleberg, Greer, Dmitry Kulikov, and Nick Paul would all be sent off as a result and neither team received a power play out of it. Score remained 3-0 after the penalties expired and the change of pace was welcomed by Tampa Bay. Finally, Lightning would go on only their second power play of the night with over 6 minutes left in the period. What looked like a power play goal for Cirelli was instead called off due to a high stick. Panthers killed off the penalty and also nearly scored a short-handed goal. Overall, another eventful period ends with no changes to the score.
Florida eyeing a goal
To begin, Greer returned to the Panthers bench after an awkward collision into the boards sidelined him in the second period. Cam Atkinson saw more ice time due to losing Kucherov earlier in the night. Start of the period was much calmer than it has been for most of the night but would that last? Surely, the seasons beatings would continue as there was never a dull moment in tonight’s game. If it were not for Johansson, this game would have easily been tilted in favor of the Panthers. Florida continued to generate chances yet could not answer Johansson with half the period now gone.
Seasons beatings and holiday cheer
Score remains the same but for how long is the big question. Neither team has scored since Chaffee’s goal in the first period as its been more of a physical battle than anything else. Shockingly, Panrthers decided to pull Bobrovsky with 6:20 left and on the power play. Brandon Hagel made them pay with a short-handed empty net goal to make it a 4-0 lead. Before the penalty expired, Sam Bennett was called for rouging and now it was Tampa’s turn to go on the man-advantage. Neither team scored on the power play with the final stages of the game on the horizon. In the end, Lightning got their revenge, and Johansson played the best game of his career. Perfect way to enter the holiday break and we hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!
Sealing the deal 🖊️ pic.twitter.com/4KHQMxm9VT
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) December 24, 2024
Three stars of the game
1st Star: Jonas Johansson – Saved all 36 shots faced for the shutout
2nd Star: Brandon Hagel – 1 goal and 1 assist
3rd Star: Victor Hedman – 2 assists
