Ever wonder what it’s like to face a team that hits you hard and gets under your skin? Just ask Brad Marchand, who ate a controversial Sam Bennett hit in the 2024 playoffs, sidelining him with an upper-body injury. That bone-rattling moment is the Florida Panthers’ calling card: play hard, hit harder. And as agitators like Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett brought that same energy to Game 2 of the Round 1 playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a national reporter couldn’t help but ponder how the Pittsburgh Penguins who are pretty much on the opposite end of the spectrum have fared had they gone head to head with the Panthers.
Pittsburgh Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe’s tweet on his ‘X’ handle cut deep for Penguins fans: “Watching Florida and Tampa play in person is a great illustration of how far away the Penguins are physically. Half of their team would be hurt by now if playing in a series against Florida.” This assessment underscores a growing narrative around the Penguins’ struggles with physicality, often labeled as ‘soft’ in contrast to teams like the Panthers. Florida’s aggressive style, honed under coach Paul Maurice, emphasizes physical dominance without crossing into recklessness.
Now, with Marchand—traded from Boston in a blockbuster 2025 deal—joining the fray, the Panthers are downright intolerable. Apart from having a mouth that yaps (and often licks), Marchand has also earned himself a reputation with elbowing, clipping, slew-footing, spearing… you name it.
This physicality shone in their Game 2 vs Tampa Bay, which saw 72 hits between the two teams, with Tkachuk, Bennett, and Marchand ending the game with a total of 6 hits of the team’s tally of 34. You think that was quiet? Well, by their standards, it was. But let’s go back to Game 1 for a while. That match-up saw the Panthers outhit the Lightning 48-28, with Sam Bennett leading the charge with a whopping 7 hits to his name. How would the Penguins deal with an onslaught like that?
Watching Florida and Tampa play in person is a great illustration of how far away the Penguins are physically. Half of their team would be hurt by now if playing in a series against Florida.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) April 25, 2025
Well, it’s not like the Pittsburgh Penguins have been soft customers all along. In fact, they were the leaders in hit in the 2022-23 season with 2,309 of them. However, guess who’s been at the top of that chart since then. Yep. The Cats, with 2,339 in 2023-24 and 2,446 this past regular season. That, combined with their defensive fortitude and relentless offense, has made them the NHL’s most successful team over the past three seasons. They claimed the Presidents’ Trophy in 2021-22, reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2022-23 and 2023-24, and hoisted the Cup in 2024.
With a healthy roster, Florida’s poised for a third straight Final and a shot at repeating. Pittsburgh’s 1-0-2 record in three games against them this season shows they can compete, but Florida’s ability to “flip a switch” physically often overwhelms.
Maybe the tweet is a wake-up call for the Pittsburgh Penguins led by Sidney Crosby, exposing the chasm between their current form and the physical dominance of teams like the Florida Panthers. Granted, the physicality can backfire at times, but it’s far from the only thing that Maurice’s men rely on. We only need to go back a few months to better understand this.
Tkachuk spends lengthy stretch in the penalty box vs Penguins before scoring
Thanks to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a 10-minute misconduct, Matthew Tkachuk had to spend 12 minutes during the Panthers game against the Penguins on January 3 at the Amerant Bank Arena. The penalties kept him out for the final 5:22 of the second and the first seven minutes of the third. “I was pretty surprised, to be honest with you,” Tkachuk admitted. “I guess I just had to go to the box and sit for a while.” But boy, did he make the most of his time when he was finally allowed back on the ice!
When Tkachuk finally returned with 13:03 left in regulation, the score was tied. And Tkachuk? He redeemed himself in his first shift back by deflecting a Carter Verhaeghe shot on the power play. The goal, his 14th of the season, put an end to his 6-game scoring drought and proved pivotal in Florida’s 3-2 shootout victory. “He was fresh,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice noted. “He got to rest a little bit. A big goal for us, for sure.” The goal carried extra weight for Tkachuk, who had been partly responsible for a go-ahead goal Florida conceded in a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes the previous night.
Of course, none of it would have been possible had their former goalie Spencer Knight not chipped in with saving 29 of the 31 shots he faced. The rest of the defense didn’t stay put either. In fact, it was Defenseman Gustav Forsling who opened the Panthers’ account with his sixth goal of the season just 36 seconds into the second period. The game, however, was far from over, with Sidney Crosby and Richard Rakell playing spoilsport with their respective power play goals that sent the game into overtime.
In the three-on-three overtime, Knight and Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry traded crucial saves, sending the game to a shootout. Reinhart and Anton Lundell scored for Florida, while Knight denied Crosby and Rakell to secure the win. The victory marked Florida’s sixth in nine games. Tkachuk’s redemption, paired with Knight’s stellar performance, underscored the Panthers’ resilience in a tightly contested matchup.
The post National Reporter Warns Penguins & Sidney Crosby With Harsh Reminder About Florida Panthers: “Would Be Hurt” appeared first on EssentiallySports.
