**SUNRISE** — Monday night’s preseason game against the Tampa Bay Lightning highlighted that the Florida Panthers are tough to watch when they’re not engaged.
With both the Panthers and Dolphins in action, it felt more like a casual exhibition in front of friends and family.
The NHL also released a film about the Panthers’ Stanley Cup Championship today.
Florida played three of its top four forward lines and five of its top six defensemen. Tampa goalie Jonas Johansson had a shutout until Sam Reinhart deflected a shot from Carter Verhaeghe late in the game.
The Panthers split goaltending duties between Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight, both performing adequately.
Key takeaways:
— Evan Rodrigues left in the second period and is not expected to play Wednesday in Tampa.
— The Panthers had only one power play, with Adam Boqvist likely leading the first unit alongside Verhaeghe, Tkachuk, Barkov, and Reinhart.
— Patrick Giles, active on the penalty kill, centered the likely starting fourth line but needs to improve on faceoffs.
— Niko Mikkola was the only top-six defenseman not to play, replaced by Uvis Balinskis.
More updates on the Opening Night roster are coming later today.
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