TAMPA, Fla. – For the third time in four seasons, the Lightning will meet the Panthers in the playoffs. Florida’s 5-2 win over visiting Toronto on Tuesday night, coupled with Boston’s 3-1 home loss to Ottawa, clinched the Atlantic Division and No. 2 seed for Paul Maurice’s team.
The Lightning occupy the Eastern Conference’s top wild-card spot, or No. 7 seed.
As was the case with the first two playoff meetings, the series will open in Sunrise. Game 1 will be Saturday or Sunday.
The Bolts finish the regular season Wednesday evening (7:10) against Toronto at Amalie Arena.
“It probably means a little more because it is in state,” said Cooper, of facing the Panthers. “The two teams have kind of grown up together the last five or six years and expect the unexpected. It is a ton of fun playing these games against them and I would expect nothing different than a fun series.”
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The initial playoff meeting between the teams was in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. It was the opening act in the Lightning’s journey to a second straight Stanley Cup victory. A 4-0 win at Amalie Arena in Game 6 clinched the series.
The Lightning and Panthers met in the second round the following spring. Cooper’s team swept the Panthers and outscored them 13-3, the second step on the way to a third consecutive Cup final appearance. All told, the Bolts are 8-2 against Florida in the postseason with a 37-20 scoring advantage.
Florida won two of three in the season series with the Lightning’s lone win a 5-3 decision in Sunrise on March 16. The Panthers won twice at Amalie, 3-2 on December 27 and 9-2 on February 17.
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