5 TAKEAWAYS: Vasilevskiy stands tall as Lightning eliminate Panthers

TAMPA -The Panthers saw their postseason run come to an end with a 2-0 loss to the Lightning in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Monday at Amalie Arena.
While it wasn't the ending anyone had envisioned following the team's Presidents' Trophy-winning campaign, the Panthers can take pride in the step forward they took this season.
After winning their first playoff series since 1996, it's clear better days are on the horizon.

"I think we're closer than ever, but we got swept," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said confidently when asked about the future. "There's another level we've got to climb. We're still climbing. I believed that we were ready for that next step, but unfortunately we fell short."
Not for lack of effort, the Panthers fired off 49 shots against the Lightning, but all of them were gobbled up by Andrei Vasilevskiy. Shutting the door to lead Tampa Bay to a sweep in the best-of-7 series, the former Vezina Trophy winner gave up just three goals during the entire series.
"You know everything about him," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said of Vasilevskiy. "They block shots. They play really desperate defense. They play really well, so it's hard to get to [the net]. We could've done a lot of things differently, but our effort was there every game."
Coming out flying, the Panthers outshot the Lightning 17-3 during a scoreless first period. The reason for no goals - in addition to the Lightning blocking 11 shots - was, again, Vasilevskiy. Of his saves in the opening 20 minutes, none were bigger than a doorstep denial on Radko Gudas.
In the second period, the Lightning had a pair of goals taken off the board after reviews. First, Alex Killorn had a goal came back because the puck went out of play prior to the score. Soon after, Nikita Kucherov's goal was negated because it had been set up by an illegal hand pass.
From there, the game would remain scoreless until the Lightning - for real this time - finally broke the ice when Pat Maroon whacked a fluttering puck out of mid-air that clipped off part of Sergei Bobrovsky before trickling across the goal line to make it 1-0 at 6:16 of the third period.
Unable to get any of their 15 shots in the final frame past Vasilevskiy, the Panthers received their best opportunity to tie the game when a late delay-of-game penalty gave them a power play, which later turned into a 6-on-4 with the goalie pulled, with 2:30 remaining in regulation.
Standing tall one last time, Vasilevskiy somehow kept Jonathan Huberdeau from scoring what would've been the game-tying goal right around the right post. With 22.1 seconds left on the clock, Ondrej Palat scored on the empty net to make it 2-0 and lock in the win for Tampa Bay.
In moments like this, it's important to remember Rome wasn't built in a day.
And neither is a Stanley Cup champion.
Need an example? Look no further than the team that came out on top in tonight's matchup. Prior to winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, the Lightning spent six seasons trying to get to the top of the mountain. They lost in the first round twice, the Eastern Conference Final twice, the Stanley Cup Final once, and even missed the playoffs entirely during the 2016-17 campaign.
Moving forward, it's all about what you do with the lessons you learn along the way.
"I don't think it was from a lack of effort," Brunette said of this year's early exit. "I think it's just one of those things. For this group, it's another step. It's another learning curve for them. There was one last year, and then we got through one round, and now we ran into Tampa again."
But as for the immediate future, this latest defeat is going to sting for a bit.
Sometimes, it's that pain that puts a team over the top down the road.
"It's a tough pill to swallow," said defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who returned from injury to lead Florida in postseason ice time. "Getting swept is tough. It hurts. It stings. No doubt about it."
Here are five takeaways from Monday's loss in Tampa…

1. VASY STEALS THE SHOW

Vasilevskiy was on top of his game against the Panthers.
Culminating with a 49-save shutout in Game 4, Tampa Bay's star goaltender improved to 4-0 with a .981 save percentage in the series. Unbeatable in recent years when all the chips are on the table, he also improved to a perfect 10-0 in potential elimination games dating back to 2020.
After finishing the regular season as the only team in the NHL averaging more than four goals per game, the Panthers were held to just three total goals against Vasilevskiy during the series.
In Game 4, he stopped all nine high-danger shots he faced.
"The effort obviously was there," Ekblad said. "Contributions up and down the lineup every night got us to where we were in the regular season. It got us through Washington [in the first round of the playoffs]. I can't say enough about that. The effort obviously was there."

2. THE KITCHEN SINK

There's not much more the Panthers could've done offensively in Game 4.
Pelting the opposing net from the moment the puck dropped they fired off 49 shots on goal against the Lightning. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, 38 of those shots were credited as scoring chances, while nine of their scoring chances came from high-danger areas on the ice.
Making a habit out of out-chancing opponents all season, it was a vintage performance.
"I thought it was the best game we've played as a 60-minute game [in the playoffs]," Brunette said. "It looked like us. I'm not sure if the backs were that far off the wall and there was no pressure, but we played like we played all year tonight. That wasn't always the case in the other games. We showed flashes of it, but a 60-minute game at that pace [tonight] looked like us."
In addition to Vasilevskiy, the Lightning also limited Florida's offense by putting their bodies on the line with block after block. Entering tonight's matchup ranking second in this year's playoffs in blocks, the Lightning racked up 18 more during Game 4, including 11 in the first period alone.
"They blocked shots," Barkov said. "When we'd get a chance to shoot, they'd really want to block shots. They blocked a lot of them, and if something gets through Vasilevskiy makes the first save. They didn't let us go for rebounds. They boxed out and played really tight defense. It was our job to find a way to get there for the rebounds and for the pucks, but we just couldn't."

3. BOB DOES IT ALL

At the other end of the ice, Bobrovsky often matched Vasilevsky save for save.
Putting the Panthers in position to win during each game that he manned the crease in the postseason, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner surrendered just six goals at even-strength.
Even though he only faced 25 shots in Game 4, eight were considered high-danger attempts, including his clutch save on a breakaway from Brandon Hagel to keep it 0-0 in the third period.

"I'm happy for him," Brunette said of Bobrovsky's showing. "He played great all playoffs. He was a factor in all those games. He kept us in some. When we were a little sluggish in Washington, I thought he kept us in some games there. He was a big part of that first series win for us."
Couple his playoff performance with the franchise-record 39 wins he compiled during the regular season, and I think we can all agree on one thing heading into 2022-23 - Bob is definitely back.

4. NEED MORE POWER

Looking back at the playoffs, the Panthers know the power play could've been much better.
After getting through the first round without scoring a goal on the man advantage, they went just 1-for-13 against the Lightning. Despite recording 10 scoring chances in Game 4, they went 0-for-3 on the power play, including coming up short on a great opportunity late in the third period.
Florida finished the regular season tied for fifth in the NHL on the power play at 24.4%.
"What we learned is we tried to find a way to excel on the power play obviously more," Ekblad said. "That hurt us big time. Try and break down teams, a little more pressure maybe. It's a learning experience that will sink in over the next little while."
Given the sheer amount of talent they possess, the Cats know it's an area they can clean up.

5. THANK YOU

We'll have plenty of time in the offseason to talk about hockey, so I wanted to use this final takeaway of the season to give a shoutout to all the fans that followed along from start to finish.
In my decade or so of covering the Panthers, I can honestly say that I've never had more fun. Of course, part of that comes from the team's on-ice success: the historic regular season, slaying the demon of 1996, all of the broken records and the other great memories that'll last a lifetime.

But another big part was all of you incredible fans that that were there to share in that success. We've gotten a taste of success the last two seasons, and much bigger meals are ahead of us.
Until then, keep on cheering, chatting and growing this awesome Panthers community.