Panthers, Lightning combine for more than 300 PIMs in heated game

SUNRISE, Fla. — Niko Mikkola had an assist on a goal that gave the Florida Panthers an 8-0 lead. Problem was, he’d been kicked out of the game a few minutes earlier and nobody noticed.

Florida beat Tampa Bay 7-0 in the preseason finale for both clubs Saturday night, though the score was irrelevant. There were 65 penalties for 312 minutes on the stat sheet, including 13 game misconduct penalties — seven for Tampa Bay, six for Florida. The penalty count kept rising after the game, while officials were making sure everything that was called got logged.

Florida had 17 power-play chances in the game, by the NHL’s count.

“It got silly. It got stupid by the end of it,†Florida forward Evan Rodrigues said. “It wasn’t really hockey out there.â€

The parade to the penalty boxes started about two minutes into the game when Tampa Bay’s Scott Sabourin — who was among six players the Lightning called up for the game — went after Florida’s Aaron Ekblad. Sabourin got a major penalty after playing only 19 seconds.

“It made you think there might be something coming,†Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen said, when asked what he thought when he saw the Lightning called up players for the game.

What would have been the eighth Florida goal of the night, midway through the third period, was taken away 15 minutes after Jesper Boqvist scored. Off-ice officials realized that Mikkola couldn’t have had an assist on the play — since he’d been ejected earlier in the period.

The teams skated with the scoreboard saying Florida led 8-0 for about five minutes of actual game time, before officials informed both teams that the goal had been taken away and Mikkola had to leave the game.

The Lightning took nine penalties and had no shots on goal in the third period.

Saturday’s game came two nights after the teams combined for 49 penalties and 186 minutes in another preseason contest, one the Lightning won 5-2.

Tampa Bay went to three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals from 2020 through 2022, winning two titles in that span. Florida has been to each of the last three Stanley Cup Finals and has won the last two Cups. And it has long been a heated rivalry between the franchises.

“I think anybody thatâ€s been a part of this rivalry would probably look at this box score and A, not be surprised and B, I canâ€t believe itâ€s taken this long for something like that to happen,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.

It came close, but Saturday’s gong show didn’t quite beat the record for most combined penalty minutes in one game. That record belongs to the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators, who in 2004 combined for 419 penalty minutes — 409 of which took place in the third period. If this had been a regular-season game, it would have taken the cake for most PIMs since 2011, per Sportsnet Stats.

The Panthers and Lightning each have some time to cool down, though, as their next meeting isn’t until Nov. 15.

— With files from Sportsnet Staff

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