Now it's theirs," said coach Jon Cooper, who watched his team get eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 6-3 loss to the Panthers at home. The Lightning eliminated their archrivals 4-2 in 2021 and 4-0 in 2022, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in both seasons. But the Panthers have flipped the script, ousting the Lightning in five games last season en route to winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history and then beating them in five games again. The Lightning took a lead in the first period, only to give it up 2 minutes, 48 seconds later. Florida is trying to match the Lightning, who are the last team to make the Stanley Cup Final for three straight seasons (2020-22).