It’s that time again. The Battle of Florida is back. Although Thursday night’s matchup is only a preseason game, the temperature is likely to remain heated when the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Florida Panthers. Last preseason, the two teams met three times. The second matchup quickly turned contentious when Panthers forward A.J. Greer sucker punched Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, setting the tone for what became a penalty-filled game. The matchup ended with 49 penalties, including eight misconducts, and a total of 186 penalty minutes. Days later, the Lightning traveled to Sunrise for the preseason finale. Tampa Bay called up six players from Syracuse to fill out its lineup, and the game ended with 65 penalties and 322 penalty minutes. This time around, the Lightning lineup will consist of almost all NHL regulars, while the Panthers are expected to turn to a younger group of players looking to make the team. Part of the NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement limits players with more than 100 games of NHL experience to two preseason matchups. Florida used many of its top players in its first two games against the Carolina Hurricanes. Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad, Niko Mikkola and Seth Jones all played in those two games. “I'm just I'm just out there to play hockey and we'll see what happens,” said Scott Sabourin. For the Lightning, it will be another chance to get their NHL lineup preseason game action before the regular season begins. It will also give the coaches an opportunity to see who steps up if the game takes a turn. “I expect guys to go out there and try and make the Tampa Bay Lightning,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Wednesday. “I expect guys to go out there and try and make the Florida Panthers. That’s what the last two are for. So yeah, it’s just how those games are.” Thursday’s game will be Tampa Bay’s third of four preseason matchups. The Lightning will travel to Sunrise on Saturday for the preseason finale against the Panthers.
