The match ended 7–0 to Florida after the home team's last goal by Swedish Jesper Boqvist was disallowed – 15 minutes later. The passer Niko Mikkola had already received a match penalty and would not be allowed on the ice, but the referees had missed it in the confusion, writes ESPN.
The rivalry between Florida and Tampa Bay is well-known, but the teams' last practice match before the NHL premiere on Tuesday completely deteriorated.
When the match ended, Tampa Bay only had eight players left, including Swedish Pontus Holmberg. Jesper Boqvist's Florida could only field ten players. The rest had received match penalties.
Both teams rested their top stars and the teams were full of players who wanted to play physically to show themselves and get into the final squads before the season premiere. This combined with the rivalry between the teams from the same state contributed to the atmosphere in the match, believes Tampa Bay's coach Jon Cooper.
Those who are familiar with our rivalry are probably not surprised by the match statistics, but wonder why something like this has not happened before, he says to AP.
CORRECTED: In an earlier version, an incorrect piece of information was presented. The correct information is that 322 penalty minutes were imposed.
