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,

In their first game after acquiring defenseman Seth Jones in a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, the defending Stanley Cup champions took care of business in their own barn, defeating the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 2-1 on Monday.

After advancing to back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals between 2020-22 -- and winning two of them -- the Lightning are going all in again.

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.

Seth Jones made his debut for the Panthers after he was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday for goalie Spencer Knight and a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The defenseman had three shots on goal in 22:56 of ice time, including 4:08 on the penalty kill.

The Lightning and Panthers GMs never complain about salary cap constraints. They don't worry about how difficult it seems to be to make trades in the NHL. They just make them, says Ken Campbell.

Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones (3) skates with the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning Monday, March 3, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. Credit ...