By Andrew Powell
Copyright dailycaller
Florida, baby … the kings of hockey.
Exhibition games are labeled “Friendlies” in soccer, while in hockey, they’re just simply preseason games. And quite frankly, there’s no way you can call them “Friendlies” considering there was absolutely nothing friendly about what went down Thursday between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
In a preseason contest between the teams, we had so much fighting that the Panthers and Lightning racked up a whopping 32 penalties in that category. Overall, they tallied 49 combined. In total, Florida and Tampa Bay had an unbelievable 186 minutes in penalties. (RELATED: Carolina Panthers Have Gotten So Bad It’s Driving Podcasters Into Retirement)
When the smoke cleared, it was the Lightning who walked away with the 5-2 victory.
Florida and Tampa Bay square off again Saturday night, doing so in Sunrise prior to the regular season starting.
Doesn’t matter if it’s preseason, the Battle of Florida will always be pure chaos 🥊 pic.twitter.com/tJz3UfM2a1 — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 3, 2025
If you needed even more evidence that the state of Florida runs hockey, then here’s a big slab of it right here. Not only are we winning championship rings, but we’re beating the hell out of teams while at it.
Sure, I’m a Panthers fan, and I know I’m not supposed to like the Lightning especially considering how much we despise each other, but as a Floridian, I can’t help but to take pride in both teams.
We’re peak culture down here in the Sunshine State, ladies and gentlemen.
🎶 What a thrill, what a rush, Cup me up, Florida 🎶 Third straight Stanley Cup Final for the Florida Panthers. Sixth straight Stanley Cup Final with a team from Florida. It’s one hell of a drug. pic.twitter.com/I7QuyZy1TV — Zach Cavanagh (@ZachCav) May 29, 2025
Beautiful stuff indeed.
