SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers extended its winning streak to five games on Monday, after beating the in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1.
Monday’s game was "Vamos Gatos" night at Amerant Bank Arena, celebrating Hispanic heritage and the Hispanic community in South Florida. In addition to specialty "Vamos Gatos" artwork throughout the arena, collections of Hispanic artwork were on display.
Watch Fox 4's Alex Orenczuk report from Amerant Bank Arena:
“The colors are vibrant and beautiful, very exciting,” said Panthers fan Celesse Devito . “I love art so of course I like to see expressions in any form but especially when it involves the cats it's awesome.”
Carlos Solano, artist and curator behind the Vamos Gatos collections told Fox 4 that the themed night helps attract Hispanic fans, who might have never experienced a Panthers game before.
“Bringing a little bit of their story into the arena I would hope on our end would help for them to cross that bridge and come see a game and be proud of who we are and be proud of the team, and just enjoy the whole new experience of hockey,” said Solano.
On the ice, 12-year league veteran defenceman Seth Jones played nearly 23 minutes and put three shots on goal in his debut with the cats after being acquired from the Chicago Black Hawks on Saturday.
“He’s going to be really good for us," said Head Coach Paul Maurice. "Moves the puck clean. He’s got a set of hands on him. For flying from Anaheim yesterday to get here, and then to have everything be brand new—mostly he’s playing on instinct out there. The East is so much different than the West. I was really pleased at his ability to process and play the game. We’ll get the systems down, we’ll get all the other stuff down which will make him faster.”
The Panthers traded back up goaltender Spencer Knight and a conditional first round pick for Jones. Following the move, on Sunday, the Panthers’ alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk was placed on the long term injured reserve after getting hurt during the Four Nations Face-Off. Tkachuk has missed the last four games with the cats.
Captain Aleksander Barkov scored both Panthers’ goals on Monday’s victory against the Lightning, extending the team’s win streak to four games. The Panthers will play again on Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second "Vamos Gatos" night.
