Panthers ready for ‘intense,’ ‘fire’ series with Lightning as playoff rivalry renews
The Florida Panthers’ wake-up call came after their abrupt exit to the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. Florida had won the Presidents’ Trophy that year, was the league’s top offense and cruised into the second round of the playoffs after beating the Washington Capitals in six games.
And then came the Tampa Bay Lightning, who thwarted everything that made the Panthers so successful. The offense was nullified. The defense exposed. Nothing went right. Tampa Bay swept Florida, holding the Panthers to just three goals in the four games played.
“When we got swept by them, I think what we took into account why we got swept,” Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. “You tend to learn from a team that’s been there. At least you should, right? They’re there for a reason.”
So the overhaul began.
Out was interim coach Andrew Brunette, who replaced Joel Quenneville following his resignation that came in light of news that he was aware of a the Chicago Blackhawks’ mishandling of a 2010 sexual assault allegation by a player, Kyle Beach, against an assistant coach, Brad Aldrich.
In was Paul Maurice who implemented a defense-first, forecheck-heavy, grind-it-out style of play that was almost the antithesis of their free-flowing, high-flying, offensive system that was wildly successful in the regular season but didn’t hold up in the playoffs.
The Panthers worked out the kinks of the new system in Year 1, struggling early but sneaking into the playoffs and making a magical run to the Stanley Cup Final.
In Year 2, last season, Florida won the Atlantic Division, which set them up with the long-awaited playoff rematch with the Lightning. This time, Florida was ready. It’s defense was stout. The offense figured out star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Panthers won the series in five games. Florida went on to win its first ever Stanley Cup.
“I think it was fitting last year that we had to go through them to win,” Reinhart said.
If the Panthers want to repeat as Cup champions, they will have to go through their in-state rival once again.
For the fourth time in five years, Florida and Tampa Bay will meet in the playoffs, with their first-round matchup beginning Tuesday at Amalie Arena (8:30 p.m., ESPN/Scripps Sports).
“It’s going to be fire,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said. “Everyone’s going to put everything on the line. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The opening-round series is a matchup against two teams arguably best constructed to make a deep playoff run. Both teams have top-end scoring options, Florida with Reinhart, captain Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe, Tampa Bay with the foursome of Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel. Both have top defensemen in the Panthers’ Forsling and Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman. And both have battle-tested goalies in Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky and Tampa Bay’s Vasilevskiy.
Both team are physical yet responsible. They are competitive on both sides of the special teams equation. They understand what it takes to win a Stanley Cup because they’ve both been there.
“I think both us and them are two, obviously, world-class organizations that know what it takes to win and are prepared to do the right things,” forward Sam Bennett said. “Obviously, they have tons of experience. They’ve been there. They know what it takes. A lot of their core is the same. I think their organization’s probably very similar to ours in that regard. That’ll be a good test.”
Added Panthers coach Paul Maurice: “The consistently good teams have a talent base to start. There’s nobody making the playoffs or winning championships that are Cinderella stories; it only happens once or they get lucky or you get on a heater. There’s a reason why they’re always considered to be a favorite: because that base is there.”
The two teams from the Sunshine State have been a gold standard in the NHL as of late. The two have represented the Eastern Conference in each of the past five Stanley Cups, with Tampa Bay going in 2020, 2021 and 2022 (winning it all in 2020 and 2021) and Florida in 2023 and 2024 (winning it all last year).
“It’s good for hockey,” Barkov said. “It’s good for the state of Florida.”
And on Tuesday, the rivalry renews again. Both teams’ cores know what to expect in a series like this. No love will be lost. Emotions will be high.
And it’s one that will test the mettle of both teams as they try to begin their run toward a Stanley Cup.
“The playoffs are intense against anyone,” Barkov said, “but obviously Tampa, we know them really well. We played a lot of against them. They know us really well. I don’t think there’s many secrets between us, and it’s gonna be a hard matchup for sure.”
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