Following their Game 5 elimination by the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning acknowledged that their state rivals have currently seized control of the “Battle of Florida” rivalry, building on the momentum from the Panthers` Stanley Cup win last season.
“It was our turn for a while. Now it`s theirs,” remarked coach Jon Cooper, who saw his team`s Stanley Cup playoff run end with a 6-3 defeat at home against the Panthers. “And it`s our job to make sure it`s our turn again.”
Cooper recognized the Panthers` current elite status, saying, “There are only a few teams in the last little while that really know how to [win]. We were one of them, and now they`re one of them. It`s unfortunate we had to run into them. Whether they swept us or it was 4-1, that`s irrelevant. They beat us.”
Tampa Bay had previously dominated this playoff matchup, eliminating the Panthers 4-2 in 2021 and sweeping them 4-0 in 2022, with both victories propelling the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final. However, the narrative has completely shifted. The Panthers ended the Lightning`s season in five games last season on their path to winning their first-ever Stanley Cup, and they have repeated that five-game series triumph this year.
“It was the same result as last year, but it felt different this year,” commented Tampa Bay captain Victor Hedman. “It felt closer. But we just couldn`t get it done. They`re a good team. So are we. Very disappointed with the outcome of this series.”
Game 5 served as a microcosm of the current power dynamic. The Lightning briefly took a first-period lead but surrendered it just under three minutes later. While they managed to tie the score twice after falling behind, they could not regain the lead. Third-period goals from Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart secured the win for Florida.
“The games were close,” Lightning forward Nick Paul observed. “They found ways to win. We didn`t.”
Adding to their woes, Tampa Bay`s recent home playoff record dropped to a disappointing 1-9 in their last 10 contests.
The series was notably physical and intense, resulting in suspensions for players on both teams. Brandon Hagel of Tampa Bay missed Game 3 after a hit on Aleksander Barkov, while Florida`s Aaron Ekblad was suspended for Game 5 due to a two-game ban for a hit that injured Hagel in Game 4.
A significant factor in Game 5 was the performance of star players. Florida`s top contributors made an impact on the score sheet, whereas Tampa Bay`s key offensive players, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, were held scoreless. Kucherov`s production in the series was heavily weighted towards their single win, where he had three assists, recording only one assist across the four losses.
“Every year, it just keeps getting harder and harder,” stated Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov. “They`ve won Cups. They`ve been in the finals. They know what it takes. Now we`ve done the same thing. We also know. So it`s a really hard series. This year, even harder.”
The Panthers now advance to face the winner of the series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, which Toronto leads 3-2. Florida is aiming to replicate the Lightning`s recent feat of reaching the Stanley Cup Final for three consecutive seasons (2020-2022).
“They`ve built a great fan base down there,” Cooper acknowledged regarding the Panthers organization. “I remember going and playing games there and we had more fans in the building than they did. They`ve done a fabulous job of building a brand and building a team, and they`re being rewarded for it.”
Meanwhile, the Lightning face the challenge of re-evaluating their approach to once again surpass their cross-state rivals.
“They have an exceptional team,” Cooper concluded. “Not just an average team, but an exceptional team. The two teams that just played have had quite a bit of success. Unfortunately, we`re not seeing it as much lately as they are. We know where we have to go.”
