Lightning-Panthers Tilt Goes Completely Insane [WATCH]

Getty

The matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers went completely insane as wild action erupted late in the game.

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Thursday night matchup with the Florida Panthers went completely insane early in the third period.

At the 15:54 mark, the two teams lost it, with wild action featuring a heavyweight tilt between Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel.

But that wasn’t enough. The entire crew on the ice got in on the action, with additional altercations breaking out.

Here’s a look at the outrageous action, as shown on the Gino Hard X account:

MULTIPLE FIGHTS ERUPT IN THE BATTLE OF FLORIDA, INCLUDING HAGEL VS TKACHUK 😳🥊

The kerfuffle started with the Panthers Niko Mikkola and the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov getting tied up. Then, Tkachuk came over the boards, taking a direct run at Kucherov. Brandon Hagel took exception to that situation, leading to insane action.

The mess of penalties culminated with Panthers’ coach Paul Maurice getting the heave-ho, as well.

It’s worth pointing out that the game was pretty much over at that point. The Lightning had built up a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes. So, it’s fair to assume that the Panthers’ frustration had boiled over heading into the third.

Of course, the bad blood between the Panthers and the Lightning is well known. Earlier this season, the league issued warnings to both clubs about violence getting out of hand. During a preseason game, the match got out of control with just about every player on each team getting into some kind of melee.

The Bolts ended up taking the game 6-1 on the heels of two power play goals. The Panthers, meanwhile, went 0-for-7 with the man advantage.

Penalty Madness for Lightning and Panthers

The brawl led to mass confusion regarding the penalties and ejections in the game. All told, 13 penalties were issued as part of the mess. Lightning players Jake Guentzel and Kucherov got 10-minute misconducts. The rest of the penalties issued were two-minute minors.

Paul Maurice officially got zero minutes for his game misconduct. Maurice made his thoughts known to the referees on the ice. The none-too-pleasant exchanges led the refs to eject Maurice from the bench.

When the dust settled, the game ended with 61 penalty minutes for Florida and 76 for Tampa Bay.

Panthers Get Injury to Insult

If the melee wasn’t insulting enough for the Panthers and the Lightning, the Cats got an injury on top of everything.

After the refs finally sorted out the mess, the Lightning had a 5-on-3 power play. Pontus Homberg scored to make the game 5-0. However, the goal proved costly as the Cats lost starting goaltender Daniil Tarasov to a leg injury.

Tarasov could not get up off the ice and needed help getting down the tunnel. The replay showed Tarasov overextending while trying to make the save on the play. Sergei Bobrovsky entered the game in relief.

Losing Tarasov was the cap on a terrible night. But if there’s a silver lining, Thursday night’s game was the final match before the Olympic break. So, the Panthers and Tarasov will have some time to recover from the injury. Hopefully, Tarasov will be back in action after the Olympics.

As for the Lightning, they’ll have several players participating in Milano-Cortina. So, it will be interesting to see if the Olympic participation will have any bearing on the Bolts players’ performances following the Olympics.

In the meantime, the break will serve both clubs get healthy and gear up for the stretch run following the Olympics.

Nestor Quixtan Seasoned NHL analyst and baseball writer focused on covering clubs across each league with news, analysis, and insights. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Nestor’s singular experiences and background have enabled him to bring a different take on the sports world as a whole. Nestor’s fondness for baseball and hockey set the tone for his love and passion for writing about sports. More about Nestor Quixtan

More Heavy on Lightning

Loading more stories