The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning don’t like each other after meeting in the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.
That led to Saturday’s feisty preseason game, which led to 322 total penalty minutes, suspensions to Tampa Bay’s Scott Sabourin and J.J. Moser, plus two fines.
The 2025 playoffs, won by Florida, had been particularly nasty with Brandon Hagel suspended one game for a hit on Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad suspended two games for injuring Hagel with an elbow.
The teams remembered that when they met Thursday, Oct. 2, and combined for 186 penalty minutes. A.J. Greer was fined for roughing and injuring Hagel.
Saturday’s preseason game blew past that with 65 penalties and 322 penalty minutes.
The rough stuff started early when Sabourin took down Ekblad in the first period and then punched him when he got up. Ekblad wouldn’t return to the game and Sabourin received a match penalty for intent to injure. Ekblad was back at practice on Monday.
The NHL suspended Sabourin on Monday, Oct. 6 for four games for delivering an ‘ungloved sucker punch.’ He will forfeit $16,145.84 in pay after the NHL Player Safety department determined his actions were retribution.
Before the end of the first period, Tampa Bay’s Moser and Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe and Jonah Gadjovich received game misconducts.
Moser was suspended for two games for boarding Florida’s Jesper Boqvist. He’ll will forfeit $35,156.26.
The scrums and penalty minutes continued to pile up in the second period.
Early in the third period, a hit by Tampa Bay’s Oliver Bjorkstrand led to him and other players being ejected.
All told, the game featured five fights, 20 roughing minors, six misconduct penalties and 12 game misconducts.
At one point, the Lightning had three players on the bench.
‘That’s a first for me,’ Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters. ‘I think we had more coaches than players on the bench at one point.’
The Panthers won 7-0. The teams will next meet on Nov. 15 at the Panthers’ Amerant Bank Arena.
NHL Player Safety disciplinary action after Lightning-Panthers preseason game
Sabourin was suspended four games for roughing Ekblad.
Moser was suspended two games for boarding Boqvist.
Tampa Bay’s Gage Goncalves was fined $3,125.00 for cross-checking Florida’s Evan Rodrigues.
Tampa Bay’s Roman Schmidt was fined $2,098.52 for cross-checking Verhaeghe.
This story has been updated with new information.
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