The Lightning know the Panthers better than any other team. They play each other a lot — in the preseason, the regular season and the postseason — so there should be no surprises about what they’ll see from their cross-state rivals in their fourth playoff meeting over the past five seasons.

For the third time in four seasons, the Panthers and Lightning are meeting in the playoffs. This one might be the best yet.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had a successful 2024-25 regular-season. They finished the campaign with a 47-27-8 record and secured the second-spot in the Atlantic Division standings because of it. Now, they are set to face off against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the first round.