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Panthers' Sam Bennett Makes Lightning Hatred Crystal Clear

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Apr 25, 2025 4:56 AM ET

The Florida Panthers left Tampa with two wins after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Thursday to same a similar series lead, going up 2-0 in their first-round matchup.

More concerningly, however, is the fact that the Panthers saw team captain Aleksander Barkov suffer an injury that forced him out of the game and heated an already hot rivalry between the Florida neighbors..

Following the Game 2 victory, Panthers forward Sam Bennett made it clear how personal the series has become.

“The rivalry is growing,” Bennett said. “You know, we just hate them more and more every time we play them. It makes for good hockey.”

Spoke with Sam Bennett postgame. He shared his thoughts about Aleksander Barkov and the rivalry.

“The rivalry is growing. We just hate them more and more every time we play them.” pic.twitter.com/OKzLq0rB8X
— Katie Engleson (@KatieEngleson) April 25, 2025

The tension erupted midway through the third period when Lightning forward Brandon Hagel leveled Barkov with a hit that was reviewed and upheld as a five-minute major for interference.

Barkov, who had already assisted on Nate Schmidt’s game-winning goal, left the game and did not return.

HC Paul Maurice when asked if he had an update on Aleksander Barkov: “Nope.”
— Katie Engleson (@KatieEngleson) April 25, 2025

Head coach Paul Maurice provided no update postgame, simply answering "nope" when asked if he had one.

“It’s tough to see,” Bennett said about Barkov's injury. “Anytime your best player goes out like that, you always see, it’s tough to lose on this, you know... he’s a tough guy, so I’m sure he’ll be fine, but you hate to see that.”

Florida held the Lightning to 19 shots and rode another strong playoff performance from Sergei Bobrovsky, who posted a shutout.

Bennett added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds to seal the win, his second point of the night after assisting Schmidt’s opener.

The Panthers have now won six of their last seven playoff meetings against Tampa Bay, with Game 3 set for Saturday afternoon in Sunrise as the series shifts to the Panthers' arena.

“It’s exactly what we wanted to do, come in here and win the first two,” Bennett said.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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