Panthers forward Sandis Vilmanis speaks after Florida's 8-7 preseason loss to Tampa Bay on Sept. 25. What started as an exciting exhibition game between two rival franchises turned into wild and crazy goal-fest Wednesday night in Orlando. The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning played a neutral site preseason game for the second straight year at the Kia Center, home of the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. Florida and Tampa were playing a tight game through 40 minutes, with the game tied at three, but then came the third period. Jonas Johansson remained in goal for the Bolts while Ken Appleby replaced Chris Dredger in Florida’s net, and the goal tendies combined to allow nine goals on 22 shots, with several of the goals being as ugly as the statistic you just read. At the end of the day, it’s a preseason game in which a lot of young players are trying to show that they’re improving and working toward an NHL job. Let’s get to the takeaways from Florida’s loss in Mousetown, USA. UNIQUE IS PUTTING IT NICELY It wasn’t just the amount of goals that went in. Some of them were strange, some were impossible to stop, and some were just downright bad. “I don’t know that I’ve seen an exhibition game like that,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said. “I mean, there were as many goals as completed passes.” MO POINTS OUT A FEW GUYS Whether it’s an exhibition game or the middle of the regular season, a game like this one is usually going to get the one-off treatment. Unless someone goes out there and puts up a four-goal game or something like that, you’re probably not going to hear the coaches singing anyone’s praises. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] That’s why it was nice to hear Maurice call out a few players for positive reasons when he spoke afterwards. “There were some things that I liked,” he said, “Wilmer Skoog had a nice game for us, and I'm still getting to know some of these young guys and what they can do. I liked Uvis Balinskis tonight. For some guys, I'm not looking about their decisions, they don't know any of those yet, I’m just looking for their fight and their compete. I thought Uvis played like a National League player tonight, I think Jonah Gadjovich found a way to play a positionally perfect game in there, finished his checks. So there were some good things,” GREAT ORLANDO CROWD It may have been a preseason game featuring a handful of NHL regulars, but that didn’t stop a big crowd from filling the Kia Center and cheering for their Floridian hockey clubs. There was a solid mixture of Panthers and Lightning fans, and boy were they entertained. “It was loud,” Maurice said. “It was so loud we couldn’t talk on the bench, but it was good. The crowd was into it.” LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Late Lightning goal sends Panthers to first loss of preseason [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/late-lightning-goal-sends-panthers-to-first-loss-of-preseason] Florida Panthers to welcome fans inside Amerant Bank Arena for Stanley Cup Championship ring ceremony [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/florida-panthers-to-welcome-fans-inside-amerant-bank-arena-for-stanley-cup-championship-ring-ceremony] Panthers take younger squad to Central Florida for preseason battle against Tampa Bay [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-take-younger-squad-to-central-florida-for-preseason-battle-against-tampa-bay] Panthers forward Tomas Nosek to miss 'weeks, not days' with upper-body injury [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-forward-tomas-nosek-to-miss-weeks-not-days-with-upper-body-injury] Competition for few spots heating up as Panthers enter second week of training camp [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/competition-for-few-spots-heating-up-as-panthers-enter-second-week-of-training-camp] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
