Lightning eliminated from playoffs, evolution of Panthers among culprits

The Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated in the Eastern Conference First Round for the second consecutive season.

The Lightning (45-29-8) went 12-4-2 after the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8 to qualify as the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East but were eliminated in five games by the Florida Panthers.

After winning the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2022, the Lightning are out in the first round in consecutive seasons for the first time under coach Jon Cooper.

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Mitchell Chaffee F; Anthony Duclair F; Tyler Motte F; Steven Stamkos F; Austin Watson F; Calvin de Haan D; Matt Dumba D; C Haydn Fleury D

Potential restricted free agents: None

Potential 2024 Draft picks: 5

Here are five reasons the Lightning were eliminated:

1. Panthers have the answers

From a styles standpoint, the Panthers were probably the worst matchup the Lightning could've asked for.

Florida stifled Tampa Bay with its speed, special teams and depth. Matthew Tkachuk (three goals, six assists), Carter Verhaeghe (five goals, four assists) and Aleksander Barkov (two goals, three assists) did the bulk of the damage, but it was the Panthers' fourth line that pulled out Game 3 when Steven Lorentz scored the game-winning goal at 9:41 of the third period.

Though the Lightning played hard and threw everything it had, the Panthers came up with answers every time. After losing twice to Tampa Bay in the playoffs, Florida acquired Tkachuk in a trade with the Calgary Flames on July 22, 2022, and made structural changes under coach Paul Maurice to become a better postseason team.

"There were a lot of things that didn't go our way in the series," Cooper said. "I've come to the podium second plenty of times and I know how fortunate our teams have been when we did win, but you do make your own breaks and we, in this series, had our opportunities. In some big moments where I thought we could've capitalized on some situations We didn't, and they did."

2. Kucherov neutralized

The Lightning were going to go as far as Nikita Kucherov could take them. The NHL points leader in the regular season (144) had seven assists against Florida but could not make the plays when Tampa Bay really needed them. The Panthers did a tremendous job of denying the puck on the power play and Kucherov's frustration was on display for much of the series. He was physical and assertive in Game 4, the only game won by the Lightning. They needed him to play with that level of intensity for the entire series, and it didn't happen.

3. Power-play problems

One of the main storylines coming into the series was Tampa Bay's top-ranked power play against Florida's strong penalty kill. The Panthers, who were tied with the Boston Bruins for sixth on the kill (82.5 percent) proved to be up for the challenge. The Lightning went 4-for-20 (20.0 percent) with the man-advantage, down from 28.6 percent in the regular season. Brayden Point had two power-play assists in the playoffs after scoring 15 goals. Kucherov, Brandon Hagel and Victor Hedman were also held without a power-play goal.

4. Disallowed goals

The Lightning had two goals disallowed in Game 5 and three in the series. Anthony Cirelli had goals taken away in Game 3 and Game 5, the latter would have given Tampa Bay an early lead in an elimination game. Mikhail Sergachev's disallowed goal in the second period of Game 5 would have tied it 2-2.

"It is what it is on those calls," Cirelli said. "It's out of our control once they review it. It was our job to go out there and keep battling, keep working and try to get the next one. When you think you have a goal and it goes away, maybe you get down a little bit, but it doesn't matter. You have to go out there and keep playing."

5. Bobrovsky was better

During the second period of Game 2, Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped Dumba for one of the best saves of the season on what would have been a go-ahead goal. In the same game, Andrei Vasilevskiy missed a poke check in overtime that gave Verhaeghe the space to score the game-winner. That summed up the goalie battle between the past Vezina Trophy winners. Both were outstanding at times, but Bobrovsky seemed to make the bigger saves that changed momentum, especially in Games 2 and 3.