The battle of Florida hasn't disappointed. In tonight's match between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, the two have exchanged blows both literally and figuratively. It's been goals galore with the Bolts leading 4-2 after two, in a game that also included a brawl. Dmitry Kulikov, wearing the Panthers jersey, charged full speed ahead and slammed into Conor Sheary from the Lightning. This wasn't your run-of-the-mill hit—it was a controversial check to the head, resulting in Kulikov getting slapped with a match penalty. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/br_openice/status/1769141207660212238?s=46&t=yPo8xhaBTcZP7mkzEJs97A'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> <h2>Sparks Fly: Kulikov's Controversial Hit Rocks Panthers vs. Lightning Matchup</h2> <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/ginohard_/status/1769141558824087701?s=46&t=yPo8xhaBTcZP7mkzEJs97A'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> Now, the fans are going wild, especially since the Panthers have a bit of a reputation for their aggressive style of play. It's added fuel to the fire of an already intense matchup in what could possibly be a playoff preview. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/ginohard_/status/1769141896796942456?s=46&t=yPo8xhaBTcZP7mkzEJs97A'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div>