The Florida Panthers wrapped up their preseason with a wild game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. It was far from your typical exhibition match, turning into a chaotic scene with 65 penalties adding up to a whopping 312 minutes. Florida took the game 7-0, but it was a bit of a mess with all the stoppages and misconducts.

There was an early moment when Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad got cross-checked in the face and had to leave the game just a couple of minutes after the puck dropped. The matchup was the second straight one between the cross-state rivals that was all about penalties, coming right after a game just two nights earlier that had a whopping 49 penalties and 186 penalty minutes.

In a positive development for the team as it transitions to the regular season, Coach Paul Maurice has delivered on his stated plan to reintegrate his veteran players. According to Panthers insider George Richards on X, “Aaron Ekblad and Carter Verhaeghe both on the ice for the Florida Panthers.”

The coach’s preseason plan is all about giving his key veterans some rest during the early exhibition games, with the idea that they’ll be ready to play in the last preseason matchups. Even though Ekblad left the game early on Saturday, seeing him back on the ice afterward is definitely a good sign. It’s great to see Verhaeghe, a key player in the Panthers’ back-to-back championship wins, back on the ice practicing, too.

After playing most of their preseason games with the second string, Maurice has slowly begun to phase his core group of players in as the season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks approaches. Before game 3 against the Lightning, Maurice took a moment to reflect about what happened on the ice.

Florida Panthers coach’s candid thoughts after what happened in Game 2

During Game 2 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, something happened halfway through the first period. Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer cross-checked Brandon Hagel, then it looked like he high-sticked him and threw a punch at his head. Greer was given a 10-minute misconduct penalty during the play and later faced a fine of $2,213.54, which is the highest amount allowed under the NHL’s CBA, for roughing.

Later on, Paul Maurice talked about the tension that had been building up before Game 3, saying, “A little more meaningful. There’s just more potential for them to escalate because we see each other so much, and we’ve got really good players on both teams, and they’ve both won, so there’s a connection there.”

He mentioned that a bit of physical play is normal, but it’s easy to go too far. He said, “So as long as it’s, you know, reasonable, it’ll stay that way. Once it gets out of hand, it just gets out of hand fast.” Also, the coach mentioned, “I think everybody had enough of it in the last game, and I would have seen that enough times that a lot of times the next game there’s really nothing to it because both teams kind of stood up for themselves, and they both agree that this is the way it’s going to go if it gets silly. So usually the puck just gets managed pretty well.”

So, in Game 3, just like in Game 2, there were some altercations. This really sets the stage for the upcoming regular season, and fans can look forward to a lot of action from this Panthers squad.