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In a stunning turn of events, the Vancouver Canucks piled five goals on the Tampa Bay Lightning to ultimately take a 6-2 victory today. Jake DeBrusk, Kiefer Sherwood, MacKenzie MacEachern (2), Drew O’Connor, and Marcus Pettersson scored for the Canucks, while Kevin Lankinen locked things down by making 28 saves on 30 shots against.

Both Vancouver and Tampa Bay welcomed players back from injury during todayâ€s match, as Quinn Hughes returned for the Canucks and Brandon Hagel skated for the first time since Wednesday for the Lightning. However, in typical Canucks fashion, Vancouver found themselves down a player yet again during the game as Conor Garland left the game and did not return after Tampa Bayâ€s second goal of the game. The Lightning also faced concerns with Erik Cernak, who left the game at the end of the second period but returned for the third period.

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Speaking of Hughes, he was one of the biggest stories in tonightâ€s game, as he registered four points tonight and was noticeable throughout the game. Despite sitting out for a game on a day-to-day basis, the defenceman logged the most minutes played on his team with 23:48 as well as the most shots with four.

“Quinnâ€s a very special player,†MacEachern said post-game of the star defenceman. “Iâ€ve obviously played against him, seen him a lot, but to be able to see him every day is pretty cool. Itâ€s good to have a guy like that in your lineup. He changes the game, you can see that. I think on the fifth goal, he carries it in, takes it around, kind of sets up that whole play. So he kind of drives our offence when heâ€s going like that.â€

Vancouver shook up their lines for todayâ€s game, with Max Sasson being promoted to a line with Brock Boeser and Kiefer Sherwood and Lukas Reichel ending up on the fourth line alongside MacKenzie MacEachern and Linus Karlsson. With David Kämpf expected to join the team for their match against the Florida Panthers tomorrow and Garlandâ€s status unknown, these lines likely wonâ€t stick past todayâ€s game.

It felt as though Vancouver had virtually nothing going for them within the first half of the first period, as they only registered one shot in this span of time while Tampa Bay put up eight. The positive from this was that Lankinen looked sharp off the bat, stopping all eight of these Lightning shots. The Canucks†lone chance was a shot fired by Boeser from the faceoff dot. It took Tampa Bay just under a whole period and 12 shots to finally find the back of the net — by that time, the Canucks had still only registered one.

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Vancouverâ€s power play came up massively for the Canucks. During their first opportunity, Vancouver was unable to get set up properly and only managed one shot on goal from a bit of a distance, but their second man-advantage managed to cash-in thanks to DeBrusk. The forward potted yet another in-tight rebound after Elias Pettersson carried the puck into Tampa Bayâ€s zone past two Lightning players. On their third, it was Sherwood who flung the puck on the net, grabbing his 12th goal of the season after it bounced off Lightning player J.J. Moser.

Vancouverâ€s penalty kill has been a big story for the team throughout the 2025–26 season, but today, the Canucks managed to build off an offensively-inclined showing from their previous game by generating a near shorthanded chance in their second penalty kill of the match. They finished the game with two penalties killed, during which they limited the Lightning to two scoring chances.

Oct 15, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) passes the puck as Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (40) defends during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Despite the first-period thumping, it was the Canucks who put their best foot forward in the third period, scoring three goals in less than two minutes to take a commanding 4–2 lead. This was undoubtedly their best period of the game, as Vancouver managed to put 11 shots up on Lightning goaltender Jonas Johansson throughout this stretch.

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Vancouver also had a very timely coachâ€s challenge today, with Head Coach Adam Foote challenging a potential missed whistle on a high-stick that occurred slightly before Tampa Bayâ€s potential third goal of the game. The challenge was deemed successful, bringing the score back to 4–2 for the Canucks with less than 10 minutes to go in the third period.

Stats and Facts:

• Evander Kane plays in his 950th career NHL game

• Conor Garland gets into the Canucks†third fight this season, first by a forward

• Quinn Hughes passes Tony Tanti, taking sole possession of fifth in career power play points by a Canuck with 186

• Vancouver becomes the last team in the NHL to score an empty net goal during the 2025–26 season

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

19:25 – TBL: Nikita Kucherov (8) from Darren Raddysh and Brayden Point

2nd Period:

4:25 – TBL: Jake Guentzel (8) from Erik Cernak and Brandon Hagel

9:26 – VAN: Jake DeBrusk (7) from Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes (PPG)

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3rd Period:

4:11 – VAN: Kiefer Sherwood (12) from Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes (PPG)

4:54 – VAN: MacKenzie MacEachern (1)

5:51 – VAN: Drew Oâ€Connor (5) from Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek

13:52 – VAN: MacKenzie MacEachern (2) from Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes

16:57 – VAN: Marcus Pettersson (1) from Elias Pettersson and Tyler Myers (ENG)

Up Next:

The Canucks will take on Tampa Bayâ€s state rival, the Panthers, in the second-half of their back-to-back tomorrow. Newly-signed center Kämpf is expected to make his Canucks debut in this game, meaning Vancouver will have to make a roster move sometime before then in order to fit him into the lineup. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 pm PT.

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Latest From THNâ€s Vancouver Canucks Site:

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The Florida Panthers dropped a frustrating battle to their biggest rivals on Saturday night in Sunrise.

Florida struggled with their offense in a physical matchup, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 at Amerant Bank Arena.

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It was the first time in several games that the Panthers looked a bit out of sorts when compared to how they have generally been able to perform against their opponents.

In this case, the defeat stings just a little bit more because, you know, itâ€s Tampa.

Here are Saturdayâ€s takeaways:

TROUBLE GETTING PUCKS ON NET

An area that weâ€ve seen the Panthers struggle from time to time is with getting shot attempts through to the net.

Some nights their opponents have been amazing at getting into the shooting lanes, other nights Florida just canâ€t seem to find the net with looks that get through.

Saturday felt like a steady mix.

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Between Tampa Bay blocking a couple dozen shots and Florida missing with several handfuls of others, it wasnâ€t nearly as difficult of a night for Andrei Vasilevsky as it could or should have been.

“They did a real good job blocking shots,†said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “I think we had 37 (shot attempts) that never got to the net. That’s a bit of a challenge.

FAILED TO WIN PUCK BATTLES

One of the ways Florida has become such a dominant force is in their physicality.

If youâ€re heading into the boards with a Panthers player in hopes of emerging with the puck, odds are the situation wonâ€t go well for you.

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Thatâ€s the norm, but that wasnâ€t the case on Saturday.

Credit to the Lightning, who know exactly what to expect out of their cross-state rival and were ready, willing and able to withstand what the Panthers threw at them.

“I didnâ€t like the number of pucks we came up with on contested pucks,†Maurice said. “That would be the place that we need to get better at.â€

STRONG OUTING FROM PK UNIT

One area that Florida was excellent all-around on Saturday was their penalty kill.

This is nothing new, as the Cats†PK has been humming along for the past several games.

Not since the first period in Los Angeles have the Panthers allowed a power play goal, a stretch that has now reached 13 consecutive penalty kills.

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“I liked our penalty kill, that was the highlight of the game. I thought we did a real good job with that,†Maurice said. “It’s no different than your power play; It’s all confidence based. We went through a run of having a tough stretch on our kill, and it’s been good for the last four or five games. Really aggressive, everybody moving together, getting sticks on pucks, winning face offs, some blocks, but some really good clears.â€

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Photo caption: Apr 28, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) controls the puck against Tampa Bay Lightning center Gage Goncalves (93) during the third period in game four of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Rich Storry-Imagn Images)

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Now… where were we?

After ending an eight-year playoff drought last spring, the Ottawa Senators begin a brand new season Thursday night, easing oh, so gently into the new campaign with two road games against heated division rivals and perennial powerhouses.

No biggie.

Itâ€ll be a visit to Tampa tonight against the Lightning, then Sunrise on Saturday to take on the Panthers. The two Florida teams ended their preseasons in ornery fashion — trying to settle old scores and beat the tar out of each other – so as far as compete-level goes, they’re both wide awake to open a new year, and looking to make a good impression on their fans.

As the Senators contend with all that, they’ll also be without Drake Batherson and Tyler Kleven, both still nursing injuries. If not for their absence, Ottawaâ€s lineup would look almost identical to the one that bowed out in six games to the Toronto Maple Leafs last May.

But with Batherson sidelined and Adam Gaudette signing in San Jose over the summer, two free agent signings slip into the forward mix and make their Sens debuts tonight. Lars Eller will, of course, be an everyday player in the bottom six, and it looks like Olle Lycksell will slot in tonight as the 12th forward.

On defense, Klevenâ€s absence means Donovan Sebrango draws in on the third pair beside Nikolas Matinpalo.

That leaves newcomer Jordan Spence, a right shot, on the outside looking in — at least for opening night. Earlier today, THN’s Graeme Nichols wrote about Spence starting his Sens career in the press box.

Jordan Spence: A Healthy Scratch For Ottawa Senators Season Opener
The acquisition of Jordan Spence in the offseason was a move that garnered a lot of praise around the nation’s capital because of the shortcomings the Senators had last season with their right-shot depth.

There was some discussion about Spence playing his wrong side in Klevenâ€s place, but the Sens opted for Sebrango, the natural lefty, who has just two career NHL games under his belt.

If thereâ€s an upside to the 5-foot-11, 188-pound Spence sitting out, itâ€s that he wonâ€t have to retrieve pucks in the corner against a Tampa forecheck that will include 6-foot-9, 242-pound Curtis Douglas. The 25-year-old Chara-sized forward was claimed off waivers from Utah earlier this week and is expected to make his NHL debut tonight.

Ottawa Senators Projected Lineup vs Tampa Bay

Forwards

Tkachuk – Stützle – Zetterlund

Perron – Cozens – Amadio

Greig – Pinto – Giroux

Cousins – Eller – Lycksell

Defense

Sanderson – Zub

Chabot – Jensen

Sebrango – Matinpalo

Goaltenders

Ullmark (starter)

Meriläinen

Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lineup

Forwards

Guentzel – Point – Kucherov

Hagel – Cirelli – Goncalves

Bjorkstrand – Gourde – Chaffee

Geekie – Holmberg – Douglas

Defense

Hedman – Raddysh

McDonagh – Cernak

Lilleberg – Crozier

Goaltenders
Vasilevskiy
Johansson

As for last season, Tampa finished seventh overall in the NHL last season, just five points ahead of Ottawa, their expansion cousins. The two clubs split their four-game season series, 2-2. The game plan remains relatively simple. Keep Tampa’s top line in check, and you give yourself a chance. But if they go off, as they often do, it’s lights out. No Ottawa player last season had more points than Jake Guentzel (80), Brayden Point (82) and Nikita Kucherov (121).

The Sens went 3-3 in preseason while Tampa finished 6-1, which head coach Jon Cooper put zero stock in.

“I’ve seen teams in the league that have gone undefeated in the preseason and didn’t make the playoffs that year. So you take parts of your game out of the preseason, but the win-loss record is kind of irrelevant, to be honest.”

That all changes tonight, as things get real. Faceoff is 7 pm on TSN5.

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The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning wrapped up their respective preseasons on Saturday night in Sunrise.

Much like the previous meeting between the two intra-state rivals that took place in Tampa on Thursday, one that ended with 186 penalty minutes being called, Saturdayâ€s game felt like it had equal parts hockey and extracurricular activities.

In just the first period, which took 53 minutes to complete thanks to all the rough stuff, the Cats and Bolts combined for 64 penalty minutes and four game misconducts.

One of the men shown the gate was Tampaâ€s Scott Sabourin, who was one of several Tampa players called up from their AHL affiliate hours before the game who showed a propensity for getting physical with Panthers players right from the start.

Sabourin was tossed from the game after hitting and then cross-checking Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad in the face at the 2:18 mark of the first period, ending both of their nights after one shift.

After the game, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice did not have an update on Ekblad, only saying that he would be reevaluated on Sunday.

As is generally the case, the Panthers didnâ€t let any of that phase them in pursuing of the greater good: picking up two points.

While the Lightning were racking up the ejections (three Tampa players were shown the gate during the opening period), Florida was putting the puck in the net.

Power play goals from Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodrigues, and an even strength tally off the stick of Jack Studnicka, sent the Cats into the first intermission with a 3-0 lead.

Unsurprisingly, the arrival of the middle frame brought more of the same.

As Tampa players continued congregating in the penalty box, Florida kept pumping in the power play goals.

Jeff Petry joined the fun, and both Samoskevich and Rodrigues tickled the twine for a second time to give the Cats a hearty 6-0 lead.

Rodrigues picked up the hat trick during the third period, and yes, as you may have guessed, it came with Florida on the power play.

Samoskevich lost his shot at a hatty when he was one of four players ejected at the 4:01 mark of the third.

When the dust settled, Florida and Tampa combined for an eye-popping 274 penalty minutes and the Panthers skated away with a 7-0 win.

For those wondering, the Cats and Bolts meet for the first time during the regular season on Nov. 15 in Sunrise.

On to Opening Night.

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Photo caption: Oct 2, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen (27) pushes Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser (90) down to the ice in the third period at Benchmark International Arena. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)

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Sep 30, 2025, 05:41 PM ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A group led by Florida-based real estate developer Patrick Zalupski closed on its purchase of the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, finalizing the sale of the team from former owner Stuart Sternberg.

Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved the transaction last week. The price was not disclosed.

“It’s an incredible honor to become the stewards of the Tampa Bay Rays, a franchise with a proud history and a bright future,” Zalupski said in a statement. “We’re all energized by the responsibility to serve Rays fans everywhere and this great game. … We will work hard to earn the respect and confidence of our fans and new MLB partners, and we are excited about the upcoming challenge to deliver a world-class experience on and off the field.”

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Zalupski’s group, which also includes Bill Cosgrove and Ken Babby, is expected to restart the search for a new ballpark. The Rays in March withdrew from a $1.3 billion project to construct a new ballpark adjacent to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, citing a hurricane and delays that likely drove up the proposal’s cost.

Zalupski, CEO of Jacksonville-based Dream Finders Homes Inc., will be the team’s control person and a co-chair along with Cosgrove, CEO of Union Home Mortgage in Ohio.

Babby, CEO of Fast Forward Sports Group, will be CEO. Fast Forward owns the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, a Miami Marlins’ affiliate, and the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, a Cleveland Guardians farm team.

Erik Neander, in his 19th season with the Rays, will remain as president of baseball operations.

Tampa Bay said the new ownership group includes Dan Doyle Jr., Doug Hertz, Matt Silverman, Robert Skinner, Will Weatherford, and Rick Workman, who will be part of an executive advisory board that will include Fred Ridley as an independent member. Silverman has been with the Rays for 22 years, including 17 as team president.

“Major League Baseball is pleased to welcome Patrick and his partners to the ownership ranks,” commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Their collective experience and passion for the game will serve the Rays well as they enter this exciting new chapter.”

Sternberg took control of the team from founding owner Vince Naimoli in November 2005 and rebranded it the Rays from the Devil Rays after the 2007 season. The Rays won AL East titles in 2008, 2010, 2020 and 2021 and twice reached the World Series, losing to Philadelphia in 2008 and to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.

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Penalties proved costly in a game where the Nashville Predators led the majority of the way.

A late goal by the Lightning in the third period and a conversion in the third round of the shootout gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 win over the Predators on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.

“I didn’t like our third period,” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. “Obviously, starting the game with a penalty didn’t help anything. I thought we got going and had a great second [period]. In the third we were kind of waiting around a little bit.”

The Predators were scoreless in the shootout as Steven Stamkos, Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault all missed on their attempts. Boris Katchouk scored the game-winning goal for the Lightning.

Here are three takeaways from the Predators preseason shootout loss to the Lightning.

Fans got a taste of what could be ahead of the Predators’ 2025 5th overall pick, Brady Martin, as he scored twice in the second period, both from the same area of the ice.

“It’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of,” Martin said. “It’s pretty cool to score in front of a crowd like that and to hear them go wild is pretty cool.”

On the first goal, Martin scored from the right side of the slot off a pass from Matthew Wood, who was on the right side of the goal line close to the net.

His second goal came on the power play on the opposite side. Michael Bunting gave Martin a pass from just above the left side goal line and Martin one-timed it high into the net. The Predators’ top prospect was due for a goal as he led the Predators in ice time after the first period.

Martin finished the night with those two points. He’s been playing in a prominent spot in the lineup in these first two preseason games, centering the second line with Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault.

This bodes well for Martin as he’s looking to crack the Predators roster instead of heading back to Sault St. Marie for another season of juniors.

“Playing with the veterans, they’re leading me along the way,” Martin said. “I think just playing with them is helping me a lot. Learning all different tips and tricks is going to hopefully help me in the future.”

The Lightning committed 20 minutes in penalties in their first preseason game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. That carried over into Tuesday’s matchup as they logged 12 penalty minutes.

At the same time, the Predators committed 18 minutes in penalties, one of which was assessed before the game had officially started. Six seconds into the game, Fedor Svechkov was given a delaying game – Face-off violation for a hand pass. After he committed the penalty, the clock was reset to 20 minutes.

“He [Svechkov] played with his hand right off the face-off and that’s a penalty,” Brunette said. “They [the officials] brought it back to center ice and reset the clock, because it wasn’t a legal puck-drop. I didn’t know the rule either.”

Another notable penalty came in the second period when Jonathan Marchessault was given a two-minute minor for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct. Tampa’s Grant Spada, who engaged with Marchessault on the penalty, was given a double-minor, putting the Predators on the power play.

Marchessault was in the box again for roughing in the third period.

What this all means is the Predators penalty killing and power play units got a lot of work.

Nashville was on the power play five times for a 9:12 total minutes, and converted on 1-of-5 opportunities. It was on the penalty kill six times and had a 100% execution.

The Predators took half of their six penalties in the third period, and while they were able to kill off each one, they were rarely on the attack and ultimately scored the game-tying goal.

On paper, the Predators’ special teams had a strong night, but they had constantly hampered themselves due to penalties.

On Tuesday, the Predators only top scorer from last season that did not play was Ryan O’Reilly.

Meaning that Nashville had all of its firepower, including Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Jonathan Marchessault, Steven Stamkos and more. The top of its depth chart played Tuesday night.

The Lightning did not bring at least nine of their top scorers from last season, which included Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Darren Raddysh was the only player who traveled and scored at least 30 points in a single game last season.

Even it’s goaltending tandem, Brandon Halverson played one game last season.

On paper, this should’ve been a game that the Predators ran away with, similar to their pair of victories over the Panthers on Sunday. However, Nashville played into the penalties, and it ultimately cost them in the end.

“The lucky thing is that game did not count, so we learn from it, go in tomorrow, practice hard and move on from it,” forward Michael Bunting said. “It’s just an unfortunate ending.”

While it is the preseason and the results don’t count, it is somewhat concerning that the Predators, at near full strength, struggled against the Lightning’s prospects, AHL players, and a few regulars.

It’s not going to get any easier for the Predators as they will travel to Tampa Bay on Saturday and Carolina on Sunday, face those top squads and may be depleted in those games as their top players may not travel.

One preseason loss is not the end of the world, as the Predators have three more games left before they open their 82-game slate against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 9 in Nashville.

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2025 season: Eliminated Sept. 19With the Rays eliminated from the 2025 postseason, let’s take a look at the season that…