Welcome back to "Unpacking Panthers Uncaged" where we take a closer look into the newest episode of "Panthers Uncaged," presented by Enterprise. Let this serve as your spoiler warning, Panthers fans - if you haven't kept up with the Cats, check out the Season 2 finale below.

WHAT WE LEARNED

1. The highly anticipated playoff series between the Panthers and Lightning was worth the wait.
Okay, okay, this might not be something we technically learned from the latest "Panthers Uncaged" - if you watched the series that took the League by storm in the first round of the playoffs last season you would know - it was a battle for the ages.
"I can say we learned a lot from Tampa," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said of the series. "They won the Cup - they know how to do it."
The series had everything a hockey fan could ask for - a cross-state rivalry decades in the making, finally coming to a head in Round 1 with unbelievable intensity.
Tampa took Games 1 and 2 in Sunrise, but the Panthers went roaring into Amalie Arena ready to claw back into the series.
In the final minutes of Game 3, defenseman Gustav Forsling scored to force an overtime that will live on in Panthers lore forever.
After killing off a penalty and securing the puck from the neutral zone, forward Ryan Lomberg - affectionally known around the locker room as "the Lomborghini" - stepped on the gas and netted one past Andrei Vasilevskiy.

"I don't remember too much, honestly,"
Lomberg said after the game
.
"I was waiting for that chance. All it takes is one shot, one opportunity. We're on to Game 4."
Tampa Bay answered back with a win in Game 4, setting the series to 3-1 and forcing the Cats' backs to the wall. Knowing there was no room for error, the Panthers topped the Lightning 4-1 in Game 5, due in large part to budding superstar goaltender Spencer Knight.

Knight's bench boss certainly had good things to say about his first-star-level performance.
"His whole career coming up to joining us this year gave you every indication that he's capable of doing it," Quenneville said at the time. "Now, it was just an opportunity. When he did play for us right off the bat, his composure gave you every indication that he's capable of handling any kind of situation."
While Florida ultimately fell to the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Lightning, they made one thing clear: the Cats are here to stay and play.
"Getting in the playoffs is really hard," Barkov said. "And we did it. We got a lot of experience from that, and [did a] lot of learning from that."
2. It's time to get down to business.
As any NHLer will tell you, to get to the postseason you must put the work in during the preseason.
With an early first round exit in the rearview mirror, the Panthers are gearing up for what is sure to be a thrilling season.
"I think there's a lot of emotion in the gym and in the room as far as how much work we put into last season. The results weren't exactly what we wanted," said Panthers strength and conditioning coach Mike Donoghue. "From here, it's kind of a time to recalibrate and make sure our players recognize where they can improve individually.
Everyone can give a little bit more to make sure the next situation we're put in we're ready for and make the most of it."

Now that the team has had a taste of the postseason, the drive to get to the playoffs is higher than ever.
"We're close, but there's a lot of work to do," Lomberg noted. "We're excited to get back here and get back to work."
3. Aaron Ekblad is training for the new season.
A sight we've waited a long time to see: defenseman Aaron Ekblad hustling on skates, shooting pucks and smiling on ice once again.
In just a handful of months, Ekblad has gone from sidelined with a lower-body injury to skating drills at Panthers IceDen and joining his teammates for offseason workouts in the gym…and on fishing trips.

Even with missing as much time as he did, the blueliner made major moves for the Cats this past season.

"I think he was great this year," Coach Q said of Ekblad back in March. "I think he had so many games where he was dominant defensively, but his offensive contribution, joining the attack down, added a different dimension to our power play, significant minutes, matchups, controlling the outcomes of games."

BEST MOMENT

5 on skates at Panthers IceDen is exactly what we wanted to see this offseason.

GIF OF THE EPISODE

The future's so bright you have to wear shades, especially here in Florida.