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

For the second season in a row, the Tampa Bay Lightning will face off against the Florida Panthers in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Lightning enter the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a chip on their shoulder following their first-round loss to the Panthers in five games last season, who went on to win the Stanley Cup in June.

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.