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The usual terms apply. Call it snarl, call it sandpaper, call it plain ol’ aggressive hockey, but Game 2 in this playoff edition in the Battle of Florida between the Panthers and Lightning showed the proper amount of dislike between these two rivals.
Tuesday’s opener in Tampa was relatively peaceful, considering the competitors.
Thursday, the total number of penalty minutes called did not reflect the true behavior of the troops.
It was just constant pushing, shoving, grabbing, and trash talking.
Florida’s staunch defense was the difference in this one, an early one-timer from Nate Schmidt being the difference in a 2-0 win for the Panthers with Sergei Bobrovsky stopping all 19 shots he faced.
The win gave the Panthers a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series with it heading back to South Florida for a Saturday Game 3 matinee.
If the Lightning were not desperate before, it certainly is now.
The Panthers know this series is far from over, but getting two in Tampa is a fantastic start.
“It’s exactly what we wanted to do, come in here and win the first two,” Sam Bennett said.
“Obviously, the games aren’t perfect. There were a couple mistakes by us tonight, but that will happen. Guys are helping each other out, bailing each other out, and Bobby played unbelievable in net, bailed us out a bunch.”
The chirping was at its best when Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel were jawing at each other from the benches.
Those two, you might remember, had a center ice whirl to start the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
Midway through the third, Hagel’s high hit on Sasha Barkov knocked the Panthers captain out of the game and got Hagel a five-minute major penalty.
Despite the aggressive behavior, that was the only major penalty in the game.
There were only 31 minutes in penalties called, but each dual penalty – there were three sets of them – was accompanied by excessive scrapping and a few face washes.
Of the 11 minor penalties called, 10 were for roughing, slashing, boarding and unsportsmanlike conduct.
Even unlikely candidates like Anton Lindell and Brayden Point went at each other in the third. Point had all of seven penalty minutes in the regular season.
They weren’t penalized but two big No. 77’s — Victor Hedman and Niko Mikkola — were going at it for a while.
That would have been a true heavyweight battle if it materialized.
Both teams did an excellent job of killing penalties.
In all, Florida had three unsuccessful power-play attempts and Tampa Bay had five.
Gus Forsling was the only one to be penalized for a mild offense when he was caught for holding the stick of Zemgus Girgensons.
He wasn’t thrilled with the call.
After the game, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper seemed not too pleased with Hagel being assessed five minutes for the hit on Barkov, but chose his words carefully for obvious reasons.
Perhaps he should watch the hit again.
“The refs make the call. I was surprised it was a five but it was,’’ Cooper said. “They made that call so now we’ve got to dig in. I thought the boys did a great job digging in there. If they score on that , now you’re looking at a tough situation. We get through it and try to give ourselves a chance in the end. It didn’t happen.”
After the game Paul Maurice was asked if this game continued his team’s well-established identity.
“Half of it is there,’’ Maurice said. “I think the intensity is going to ramp up. The physicality will definitely ramp up.”
Maurice had no update on Barkov.
Fasten your seatbelts.
It is not likely that Game 3 will be a peaceful Saturday afternoon near the mall.
FHN Today: Barkov Injured, But Panthers Put Hurt on Lightning
Game 2: Panthers Power Down Lighting, Schmidt Happens Again
Sasha Barkov Hurt During Game 2 Win v Tampa Bay Lightning
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