Eetu Luostarinen had a goal and three assists as the Florida Panthers eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, 6-3. Anton Lundell scored a goal and two assists, and Sam Bennett scored the game-winning goal as Florida moved on to the second round.
There was an obvious sense of urgency leading to Game 5 for the Lightning. With the prospect of elimination, Tampa Bay opened the first period with an early goal by Gage Goncalves. The Amalie Arena crowd erupted in celebration as Goncalves knocked a bouncing puck past Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Unfortunately, the celebration didn’t last long. Carter Verhaeghe scored a power play goal minutes later. Further lamentations continued when Anton Lundell gave the Panthers a one-goal lead halfway through the period.
However, the Lightning refused to give up. Conor Geekie made a play to keep the puck in the Panthers’ zone, forcing a turnover from Lundell. Nick Paul found the errant puck and knotted the score at two.
Poor habits prove costly
For most of this series, the Lightning have struggled to clear the puck from their defensive zone. That poor execution continued when they failed to clear a puck from behind the net, and Aleksander Barkov tipped in a Gustav Forsling shot.
The power play has also been a challenge in this series. Until Game 5, the Lightning failed to score on the power play since the opening game. That streak was broken in the second period’s mid-way point when Jake Guentzel scored on the power play.
59 tallies another 💪 pic.twitter.com/8hYFmfiJCP
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) May 1, 2025
Bobrovsky played a phenomenal Game 5 despite giving up three goals. His acrobatic save on Goncalves in the second period kept Tampa Bay from adding to their goal total and gave Florida a huge momentum boost.
Sam Bennett would score later when he came out of the penalty box and scored on Andrei Vasilevskiy. That goal would inevitably be the game winner.
Panthers pull away in the third period
As time started to run out for the Lightning, Florida continued to apply intense pressure on the Bolts’ offensive units. As they had all series long, the Panthers’ aggressive style of play dominated the ice right to the very end of regulation.
Luostarinen added a goal for his fourth point with seven minutes left in the game, ending any chance the Lightning had to get back into the series. Sam Reinhart would score an empty net goal to put the game out of reach.
Florida capitalized on Lightning mistakes throughout the series, and continued that pattern Wednesday night. The physicality of the first round series between in-state rivals led to Florida gaining momentum each game.
The Panthers will now get some much-needed rest as they await the winner of the Toronto-Ottawa series. Toronto leads the series, 3-2, heading into Game 6 in Ottawa on Thursday.
The Battle of Florida closes another chapter
The Bolts have now been eliminated from the playoffs for the third season in a row, with the last two being at the hands of the Panthers. After the game, both coaches reflected on the Battle of Florida series.
“They are an exceptional team,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Not just an average team. They’re an exceptional team. They beat us.”
“We’ve (Tampa Bay and Florida) been the representative in the Stanley Cup Final the past five years. It was our turn for a while, and it’s theirs.”
“Two teams right in their prime,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “Very competitive men. Tampa’s had success. So it got nasty this year because of the playoffs last year and the fact that we’re rivals.”
“But we’re also in the same place with our teams. Our legitimate teams. It’s good to be the ticket sales guy in both cities.”
Lightning left to wonder
Now that the Lightning are headed to the offseason, there will be many questions to be answered. For now, the Bolts are left wondering what could have been different in this series to have been able to advance.
Costly mistakes such as turnovers and poor transitions from defense to offense were two of the team’s top key issues the past week. Each loss resulted from poor performance on the defensive end and the inability to produce scoring chances on the other end.
The absence of key playmakers making plays was another reason the Lightning’s season ended earlier than hoped. The Panthers’ defensive pressure heavily targeted Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. That pressure limited their ability to create scoring opportunities.
Brandon Hagel was missing from most of this series due to a game suspension for Game 3 and an injury suffered in Game 4. Oliver Bjorkstrand was ruled out due to injury before the series even started.
As stated earlier, special teams also became the Achilles’ heel for Tampa Bay. The power play was a paltry 11.1% for the series. The penalty kill was only 75%, compared to 81.6% during the regular season.
Cooper was clear in his response when asked about what insight he gained from the series.
“We’re not seeing (success) as much lately as they (Florida) are. Our job is to make sure it’s our turn again.”
Three Stars of the Game
1. Eetu Luostarinen, Florida. One goal and three assists for four points.
2. Brad Marchand, Florida. Two assists and a tough outing. His leadership and experience were key to victory.
3. Sam Bennett, Florida Bennett was in the penalty box twice. The first time, the Lightning scored. As he left the box the second time, he scored the game-winning goal for some redemption.
