There will be an added wrinkle to the Sunshine State Showdown tonight when the Florida Panthers play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Sunrise. Seth Jones, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night,

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) defends the goal against Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones (3) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, March 3, 2025,

Before Jones even stepped onto the ice Monday night, Panthers fans showed their excitement, greeting the five-time All-Star with loud applause and a warm ovation when he was introduced in the starting lineup at Florida’s Amerant Bank Arena.

Aleksander Barkov scored twice in the second period, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots, and the Florida Panthers beat their in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Monday night.

Thanks to the Panthers giving Tampa Bay and their top-ranked road power play a whopping seven opportunities on the man advantage, Jones was called into action to help kill off a lot of that PK time. He ended up playing over four minutes while Florida was shorthanded, helping the Cats go a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.

Captain Aleksander Barkov scored both Panthers’ goals on Monday’s victory against the Lightning, extending the team’s win streak to four games.