Imama dropped the gloves at 2:32 because that's his audition

Two minutes and 32 seconds into Tuesday's game in Raleigh, Bokondji Imama found Bryce Montgomery, dropped the gloves, and made his case for a Panthers roster spot in the only language that gets a bubble guy noticed in September.

Five minutes apiece, per the NHL's play-by-play. House of Hockey's Alexander Cole had Imama "appearing to get the better of the exchange," and Sportsnet's headline writer called it "serious hands." We watched the same thing. The new guy asked, Montgomery answered, and Imama landed the ones that counted.

Who he is

Imama, 29, is 6-foot-1 and 223 pounds, born in Montreal, drafted by Tampa Bay in the sixth round in 2015. The Panthers signed him to a one-year, two-way deal on July 1, per the team.

He has 33 NHL games and two goals across stops in Arizona, Ottawa and Pittsburgh, plus 400 AHL games with 88 points. That's a career built on the other column of the stat sheet.

Paul Maurice told Florida Hockey Now's George Richards what the coaches see in him: "He's a powerful skater and heavy on the forecheck. That's what we look for on that line to kind of define our style of play."

Tuesday he drew in for rookie Jack Devine, per FHN, and played 11:47 with three hits, no shots and the five minutes. That's the job description for the spot he wants.

The spot he wants

Richards laid out the race: Imama, Cole Reinhardt and Cole Schwindt are competing for the last forward spots, and Imama could open the season on the fourth line next to Lars Eller and Garnet Hathaway.

Reinhardt made his pitch in the first Carolina game with two goals and seven hits. Schwindt played 11:26 on Tuesday and took a tripping minor. Imama fought. Three guys, three different résumés for one or two jobs.

The line they'd be joining already has its identity. Eller, 37, signed for one year at the league minimum, per FHN's Alan Greenberg, and he's ticketed for fourth-line center, penalty-kill and faceoff work beside Hathaway, his old Washington teammate.

Maurice put it plainly to Greenberg: "They're first over the boards a lot in the penalty kill. That's every bit as critical as Barkov going over the boards on a power play."

Why the next two games are his

Here's the wrinkle that makes the rest of preseason interesting. Under the new CBA, anyone with 100 or more NHL games can play only two exhibition games, and Sports Illustrated's Kaitlin Gombar notes everyone who dressed for both Carolina games is now done. Barkov, she writes, is expected to sit the last two either way.

The stars are finished until Sept. 29.

Imama has 33 NHL games. The rule doesn't touch him. Thursday in Tampa and Saturday in Sunrise will be, in Gombar's words, an "AHL barn game frenzy," and that's exactly the room where a 400-game AHL veteran gets to run the show.

Ferda take

We're not going to pretend a first-period preseason fight decides a roster. Maurice doesn't hand out jobs for a tilt, and the Panthers' fourth line has to kill penalties, not just answer bells.

But look at what Imama did with 11 minutes. He set the tone before the stars touched the puck, threw three hits, took nothing but the major, and gave the coaches a tape that says "heavy on the forecheck" in bold. Reinhardt's two goals still lead the race. Imama just made it a race.

What's next

Panthers at Lightning, Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, then Tampa Bay in Sunrise on Saturday. Two games, the bubble only, and then the roster gets cut to 23 before the opener in Raleigh.