Florida finishes the 2023 preseason with an even 4-4-0 record
It was a fun and festive night at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday as the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning played their final game of the 2023 preseason.
Both teams utilized rosters comprised mostly of the players expected to play Opening Night, as this would be the final tune-up opportunity ahead of the games that count.
Tampa Bay ultimately got the best of the host Panthers on this night, led by another strong effort between the pipes by goaltender Jonas Johansson.
He stopped 27 Florida shots as Tampa skated to a 4-2 victory.
The Panthers finished the preseason with an even 4-4-0 record while the Bolts ended up 5-2-0.
Here are some thoughts and observations from Saturday night’s game:
Nick Cousins looked like he had a spring in his step, skating on a like with Eetu Luostarinen and Matthew Tkachuk.
Justin Sourdif continues to look like he belongs. The 21-year-old has made a hell of a case for himself to make the NHL squad.
Continuing a strong camp was Casey Fitzgerald. He’s not flashy, but he makes smart plays with the puck and is good at getting his body into shooting lanes.
Evan Rodrigues seems to have a strong grasp on what is asked of Florida’s forwards. He’s shown some chemistry with Carter Verhaeghe during the preseason, and they’re expected to be the top line wingers on Sasha Barkov’s line.
With Oliver Ekman-Larsson held out, Mike Reilly was given a look running Florida’s top power play unit. The four forwards were Barkov, Rodrigues, Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart.
Josh Mahura left the game late in the first period after blocking a shot and struggling to get off the ice. He returned during the second period after Maurice said X-rays came back negative.
