NHL Fans React To Panthers Players Reportedly Partying At Tampa Strip Club Until 3 A.M. After Game 3 Loss

• A Florida radio show claims multiple members of the Florida Panthers were spotted at a strip club in Tampa in the early hours of the morning following their Game 3 loss to the Lightning
•  A source claims “several” players stayed at the establishment until 3 A.M. after the 5-1 loss that resulted in Tampa Bay pulling out to a 3-0 in their playoff series
• Read more NHL news here

In 1997, the Florida Panthers mounted an unlikely postseason run that came to a close when the team was unceremoniously swept by the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, it was hard to be too disappointed with that result when you consider a franchise that played its inaugural season in 1993 only needed three years to prove it could hang with the best the NHL had to offer. 

Sadly, as Panthers fans know all too well by now, that campaign would prove to be the exception as opposed to the norm. That one-sided series against Colorado was both Florida’s first and only Finals appearance, and their win over Pittsburgh in the previous round marked the beginning of a 25-year stretch where the Panthers failed to win a single playoff series.

That drought finally came to an end earlier this month after the Panthers defeated the Capitals in their first-round showdown following the most successful regular season in the franchise’s history. However, the team that secured Presidents’ Trophy honors found itself staring down the barrel of misfortune yet again over the weekend courtesy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who took a 3-0 lead in the series between the two squads with a 5-1 win on Sunday.

So what do you do when you suddenly find yourself facing elimination? There might not be an objectively “right” answer to that question, but I think most people would agree you don’t want to do what several members of the Panthers have been accused of doing in the wake of the loss.

On Monday afternoon, hockey fans were treated to some fairly wild accusations that were floated by Pat Donovan and Aaron Jacobson, who host the appropriately dubbed The Pat And Aaron Show on Tampa Bay radio station WDAE.

The hosts said they spoke with an anonymous source (one they described as “very trusted” and “spot-on”) who claims several Panthers players were seen unwinding at a strip club in Tampa after Sunday’s loss. The group of unnamed players allegedly remained there until around 3 A.M. on Monday morning, which is an especially troubling revelation when you consider they were presumably aware  Game 4 was scheduled to kick off at 7 P.M. on Monday night.

Panthers coach Andrew Brunette tried to downplay the story in a press conference prior to the game, but Andy Slater of Fox Sports seemingly confirmed them in a tweet for the ages after reaching out to what he claims are the best strip club sources in the industry.

As of this writing, no concrete evidence has emerged to verify the claims, but that hasn’t stopped plenty of NHL fans from running with and reacting to the rumor.

This could be a very interesting few days.