Finished strong. Taking care of business, the Florida Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 at Benchmark International Arena on Monday. With the win, the Panthers improved to 17-13-2 and finished 3-1-0 on their four-game road trip.

The Florida Panthers visit the Tampa Bay Lightning after Brad Marchand scored two goals in the Panthers' 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars

Cooper called it “a brutal game” between two tired teams, citing that the Panthers were finishing a four-game road trip that previously sent them to Utah, Colorado and Dallas while the Lightning were back home playing their fifth game since Dec. 8 in a different city.

Panthers defenseman Seth Jones will not face discipline for his elbow to the head of Lightning forward Brandon Hagel.

A pair of Eastern Conference teams take the ice when the fourth-place Tampa Bay Lightning (18-11-3) host the 12th-place Florida Panthers (16-13-2) at Benchmark International Arena on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

Panthers aim to cap a strong road trip by clashing with a struggling Lightning squad that could potentially be welcoming back their star goalie.

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper made a rather interesting admission after a loss to the Florida Panthers.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel exited the field following a high hit in one of their road trips against Florida Panthers. The settlement of the incident that involved Panthers defenseman Seth Jones raised an immediate concern because of the kind of contact.