Lightning Coach's Immediate Reaction to Series Loss to Panthers

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s postseason ended on home ice Wednesday night, as the Florida Panthers beat them 6-3 in Game 5 to take the first-round series and win the Battle of Florida.

The defending champions eliminated Tampa for the second consecutive year, continuing their run toward a third straight Stanley Cup Final.

With his team out of contention, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper offered no excuses and could only praise their state rivals.

“They have an exceptional team,” Cooper said. “Not just an average team—an exceptional team.

“There’s only a few teams in the last little while that really know how to [win in the playoffs consistently],” Cooper said. “We were one of them, and now they’re one of them. It’s unfortunate we’ve had to run into them. Whether this series they swept us, or it was 4-1 or 4-2 … to me, that’s kind of irrelevant. They beat us.”

On Wednesday, Tampa Bay started the game with an early 1-0 lead after Gage Goncalves’ first playoff goal, but the Panthers flipped the script less than 10 minutes after that opener.

Despite tying the game twice and keeping the scoreboard at 3-3 until 15:13 into the second period, the Lightning ultimately surrendered the game to Florida, with the Panthers scoring three unanswered goals.

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) looks on against the Florida Panthers during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The loss marks Tampa Bay’s third straight first-round exit. The Lightning have not advanced past the opening round since reaching the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, which followed back-to-back Cup wins.

“It was our turn,” Cooper said about the 2020 to 2022 run of finals. “Now, it’s theirs.”

The Panthers’ series win leveled the all-time playoff tally between the two Florida-based franchises at 2-2.

Florida will face either the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Ottawa Senators in the second round. As things stand, with Game 6 of the Battle of Ontario scheduled for Thursday night in Ottawa, Toronto holds a 3-2 series lead over Ottawa.

Lightning Coach’s Immediate Reaction to Series Loss to Panthers

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