TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (1-3-0) FLORIDA PANTHERS (4-0-0)
LIGHTNING PRESEASON GAME #5
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5 at AMWAY CENTER
Lightning Roster
1 G BRIAN ELLIOTT
35 G AMIR MIFTAKHOV
88 G ANDREI VASILEVSKIY
3 D FREDRIK CLAESSON
7 F MATHIEU JOSEPH
10 F COREY PERRY
12 F ALEX BARRE-BOULET
13 F BORIS KATCHOUK
14 F PAT MAROON
15 F SIMON RYFORS
16 F TAYLOR RADDYSH
17 F ALEX KILLORN
18 F ONDREJ PALAT
21 F BRAYDEN POINT
24 D ZACH BOGOSIAN
27 D RYAN McDONAGH
29 D ANDREJ SUSTR
41 F PIERRE-EDOUARD BELLEMARE
44 D JAN RUTTA
46 F GEMEL SMITH
52 D CAL FOOTE
71 F ANTHONY CIRELLI
77 D VICTOR HEDMAN
79 F ROSS COLTON
81 D ERIK CERNAK
86 F NIKITA KUCHEROV
91 F STEVEN STAMKOS
98 D MIKHAIL SERGACHEV
Panthers Roster
30 G SPENCER KNIGHT
31 G CHRISTOPHER GIBSON
72 G SERGEI BOBROVSKY
5 D AARON EKBLAD
7 D RADKO GUDAS
8 D MATT KIERSTED
9 F SAM BENNETT
10 F ANTHONY DUCLAIR
11 F JONATHAN HUBERDEAU
13 F SAM REINHART
15 F ANTON LUNDELL
16 F ALEKSANDER BARKOV
17 F MASON MARCHMENT
19 F JOE THORNTON
22 D CHASE PRISKIE
23 F CARTER VERHAEGHE
27 F EETU LUOSTARINEN
42 D GUSTAV FORSLING
44 D KEVIN CONNAUTON
52 D MacKENZIE WEEGAR
55 F NOEL ACCIARI
62 D BRANDON MONTOUR
65 D MARKUS NUTIVAARA
70 F PATRIC HORNQVIST
74 F OWEN TIPPETT
77 F FRANK VATRANO
83 F JUHO LAMMIKKO
94 F RYAN LOMBERG
98 F MAXIM MAMIM
LAST GAMES
Panthers 6, Stars 3 – Oct. 1 – FLA Live Arena
FLA Goals: Barkov (1), Nutivaara (1), Connauton (1), Weegar (1), Huberdeau (1), Reinhart (1)
DAL Goals: Gurianov (1-PPG), Robertson (2), Gurianov (2)
FLA Goalie: Bobrovsky – 11 Saves, Gibson – 14 Saves
DAL Goalie: Khudobin – 30 Saves
FLA Shots: 36
DAL Shots: 28
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Oct. 2: F Karch Bachman, F Henry Bowlby, F Grigori Denisenko, F Aleksi Heponiemi, F
Logan Hutsko, F Justin Nachbaur, F Serron Noel, F Cole Schwindt, D Max Gildon and G Evan
Fitzpatrick assigned to Charlotte (AHL). F Zac Dalpe, D Noah Juulsen and G Sam Montembeault
placed on waivers for assignment to Charlotte (AHL). - Sept. 28: D Evan Nause, D Braden Hache and F Justin Sourdif returned to junior clubs
- Sept. 24: F Justin Sourdif signed a 3-year, entry-level contract
PANTHERS vs. LIGHTNING
ALL-TIME vs. TBL: 71-48-10-17
ALL-TIME ROAD vs. TBL: 29-32-6-7
2020-21 vs. TBL: 5-2-1
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers improved to a perfect 4-0-0 in the preseason, scoring four goals in the first period in
their second preseason matchup against Dallas on Friday as the Cats downed the Stars, 6-3.
Aleksander Barkov (1-2-3) recorded his second three-point performance of the preseason, while
Sam Bennett (0-2-2), Jonathan Huberdeau (1-1-2), Sam Reinhart (1-1-2) and MacKenzie
Weegar (1-1-2) each posted two points. Ten different Cats recorded at least one point in the game,
and Sergei Bobrovsky made his preseason debut, stopping all 11 shots he faced at even strength.
Prior to games played on Oct. 3, Barkov led the NHL with five assists and six points (1-5-6) over two
preseason games played.
BATTLE OF FLORIDA
Tonight’s preseason game is the first of three consecutive matchups of the NHL’s two Florida
franchises in three Florida locations: Amway Center, Amalie Arena and FLA Live Arena. The
Panthers and Lightning previously faced off in Orlando on Sept. 19, 1996 and Sept. 27, 2018. The
Panthers faced the Lightning eight times in the 2020-21 regular season, where the Cats owned a 5-
2-1 record against their intrastate rival. The Cats and Bolts then dueled in the first round of the
Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time ever.
FROM THEN TIL NOW
The Panthers enter the 2021-22 preseason coming off of their best regular season in club history in
terms of win percentage. In 2020-21, Florida posted a record of 37-14-5 for a franchise-best .705 win
percentage, earning the second seed in the Central Division. The Panthers 79 points were the
fourth-most by an NHL team during the regular season, and they led the league with 34.9 shots on
goal per game.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Away from South Florida in 2020-21, the Panthers recorded a 17-9-2 record for a franchise-record
.643 road win percentage, scoring a club-record 3.36 goals per game on the road. The Cats’ 26.3
road power-play percentage and 33.3 shots per game ranked as the second-best among NHL
teams, and Aleksander Barkov’s 1.17 points per game on the road was tied for fifth highest among
league forwards.
BARKOV COUNTY
Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov was named the recipient of the 2020-21 Frank J. Selke
Trophy, becoming the first Panthers player to be named the league’s top defensive forward. He led
FLA in goals (26), even-strength goals (18), even-strength points (38), shots (176), and a careerhigh 54.9 faceoff win percentage during the regular season. He ranked second on FLA in assists
(32), points (58), power-play goals (7), power-play points (19), game-winning goals (6), overtime
goals (2), takeaways (39), and total time on ice (1,046:52), and became the only Panther in club
history to record six consecutive 50-point and 20-goal seasons. Barkov was just one of 10 NHL
forwards to take over 1,000 faceoffs in 2020-21, and his 50 games played were the fewest of those
10 players.
SAM’S NEW CLUB
Sam Reinhart will play his first game in a Panthers uniform after being acquired by the Cats on July
- Reinhart led Buffalo with 25 goals and 40 points (25-15-40) in 2020-21 and his 10 power-play
goals ranked tied for the fifth-most in the NHL. Over his six full NHL seasons, Reinhart has recorded
at least 40 points six times and has tallied at least 20 goals five times.
JUMBO JOE IN SOFLO
Joe Thornton signed with Florida as a free agent on Aug. 13. Entering his 24th NHL season,
Thornton’s 680 NHL games played stands as the sixth-most in league history. He owns the seventh most career assists (1,104) and 14th-most career points (1,529) in NHL history, both marks the most
of any active NHL skater. Thornton produced 20 points (5-15-20) over 44 games with Toronto in
2020-21.
JONNY B. GOOD
Jonathan Huberdeau enters the 2021-22 season having paced the Cats in assists and points for
the past two consecutive seasons. In 2020-21, Huberdeau led the Panthers in assists (41), points
(61) and power-play points (24) for the second straight season, ranking second on the club in goals
(20) and even-strength points (37) and fourth in even-strength goals (15), power-play goals (5), and
shots (122). His 61 points ranked tied for 11th-most of any NHL skater, and his 41 assists were tied
for eighth-most. 2020-21 marked Huberdeau’s fifth campaign with at least 20 goals, and his fourth
consecutive campaign with at least 60 points. The 28-year-old is Florida’s franchise leader for
assists (330) and points (498).
BENNY AND THE CATS
Sam Bennett recorded 15 points (6-9-15) over his first 10 games as a Panther, setting a new
franchise record for points recorded by a Panthers player in their first 10 games with the club. 12 of
those 15 points (5-7-12) came at even strength. From his debut with Florida on April 17 through
Florida’s final regular season game on May 10, Bennett led the Cats with 39 shots on goal and led
Florida forwards with 29 hits.
EK’S GON’ GIVE IT TO YA
Prior to suffering a season-ending injury March 28, 2021 at DAL, Aaron Ekblad ranked tied for first
among NHL defensemen with 11 goals and led all league blueliners with six power-play goals and
three game-winning goals. The 25-year-old produced 22 points (11-11-22) over 25 games for the
Cats last season.
RETURN OF THE MACK
MacKenzie Weegar posted a career-high 30 assists and 36 points (30-6-36) in 2020-21, pacing
Panthers defensemen in those categories. He led all NHL defensemen with 31 even-strength points
(6-25-31) and tied for the league lead among all skaters with a +29 rating.
WHAT ABOUT BOB?
Sergei Bobrovsky led FLA goaltenders in games played (31), wins (19), saves (847), and
shorthanded save percentage (.952) in 2020-21. On home ice last season, Bobrovsky posted a 10-
3-2 record. He also produced wins in six consecutive starts from March 4 – March 15.
ST. PATRIC
Patric Hornqvist enters his 14th NHL season coming off a 2020-21 campaign where he led Florida
with eight power-play goals. His 32 points (14-18-32) tied for the fifth-most on the Panthers and
matched his point total from his 2019-20, doing so in seven less games played. His 80 hits were the
third-most among Florida forwards in 2020-21.
THE BUTCHER
Radko Gudas led all NHL skaters with 250 hits in 2020-21, the second-most hits by a Panther in
one season since NHL began tracking hits in 2005-06. He ranked second on FLA in blocked shots
(72) and even-strength time on ice (839:42), and third among FLA defensemen in time on ice
(948:45) and shorthanded time on ice (106:17). He set a club record for most hits in a game twice
last season, recording 11 hits on March 23 at Chicago and on May 10 vs. Tampa Bay.
CUP OF JOEL
Head Coach Joel Quenneville enters the 2020-21 season with 962 career regular season wins as
an NHL bench boss, the second-most wins in league history. Over two seasons as head coach of
the Panthers, Quenneville owns a record of 72-40-13 for a .628 win percentage and has led the Cats
to the postseason each year
