The Florida Panthers have clawed their way to a sizeable 3-0 series advantage in Alligator Alley action against rivals Tampa Bay. However, the Lightning won´t go without a sizzle. The puck drops once more in Tampa´s Amalie Arena on Saturday night, April 27, as the cross-state rivalry continues to rip. Expect the Lightning to leave the home locker room all set to check, hit hard, and drop the gloves as soon as the chance arises.
Sharpshooting Panther Matthew Tkachuk found the back of the net twice as Florida skated away 5-3 winners in Game 3. “We’re in a position right now that we would have dreamed about at the beginning of the series,” Tkachuk chuckled. “But there have been stretches where they´ve played really well, and I think it’s been a really close series so far in the first three games. We’ve been getting some unbelievable goaltending. That’s really weathered the storm for us.”
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Unfortunately, the Lightning couldn´t provide the kind of storm that would potentially tame the Panthers. The goaltending heroics Tkachuk referred to came from the ever-agile Sergei Bobrovsky. He snuffed 26 Tampa Bay attempts on the night. Moreover, his miraculous save in Game 2, when he threw up his arm in desperation with his back to the play and deflected a sure goal, may inspire a new generation of goalies in South Florida, of all places.
“I think it’s fantastic for down here. There’s probably a number of kids in the driveway this weekend, they all want to play goal for the first time, right? For me, that’s how it happens. They see something kind of magical, and they all go and try it. And then they will have five kids, and there will be a street hockey game going on, and everybody will want to be Bobrovsky. They’ll be flipping around in the net, trying to do the spin-o-rama kick saves,” Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice marveled in Fort Lauderdale, as reported by nhl.com.
How Long Have Florida Panthers Prowled in the NHL?
Both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers were born out of NHL expansion in the early 1990s. The Tropical Hockey League had gone belly up in the ´30s. The rivalry immediately got off on the wrong foot with TB fans venting as the Panthers claimed the entire Sunshine State in their name. Imagine the audacity: the Panthers had waltzed into the league a full year later than the stormy weather outfit.
Later, Phil Esposito, Lightning founder and GM, poured fuel on the fire, pointing out that the new Panthers would jazz up ticket sales. “It’s going to be great for us bringing a team to Miami because now we’re getting somebody our fans can really hate,” he quipped. Espo, together with Tampa coach Terry Crisp, then cut to the bone by dissing the Panthers organization, calling them “pussycats.”
This didn´t sit well with Florida GM Bobby Clarke who played with Crisp as a member of ´the Broad Street Bullies´ (aka Philadelphia Flyers) while suiting up as a bitter rival of Esposito’s in the ´70s. Clarke snapped that Esposito shouldn’t refer to anybody as a “pussycat,” especially taking into account “the way he used to play” which was decidedly thuggish.
What Did You Just Call Me?
When Roger Neilson later became Panthers head coach, he didn´t waste much time. While downplaying the rivalry, he offered some bait of his own to Lightning fans. “Not being a Floridian, I can’t be sure of this, but I think the ´Tampons´ [sic], or whatever you call them, that they dislike Miami a lot more than Miami dislikes them. They get very upset with Miami. I’m talking about Tampa itself as a city, and I think it’s the same with the team.” Ouch.
Let´s see if the Florida Panthers turn into pussycats in Game 4, or if they paw their way past Tampa Bay into the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
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